


Joke's On You

by LulaWrites



Series: Kpop A/B/O Universe [3]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Cuddling & Snuggling, Debut Era, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, GOT7 love their maknae, Hurt/Comfort, Kim Yugyeom-centric, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Verse, Platonic Relationships, Protectiveness, Sickfic, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:14:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LulaWrites/pseuds/LulaWrites
Summary: Prematurely-triggered dynamic presentations are thought to be associated with intense periods of heightened anxiety or significant emotional trauma. It's an extremely rare complication that affects only 0.03% of the Omega population in South Korea, and to date there's never been a single recorded case of Kpop idol undergoing this physiological phenomenon.Enter Kim Yugyeom, stage left.(Or that one time the boys decide to film a Hidden Camera prank for the first season of 'Real GOT7', only the consequences turn out to be far more serious than any of them could've imagined.)





	1. Prologue: Best Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

.

“A hidden camera prank?” Jaebum echoes, glancing between the two PDs seated in front of them. “You mean like a jumpscare?”

Beside him, Jinyoung huffs a quiet laugh against the rim of his coffee cup.

“It’ll need to be something pretty realistic to scare Gyeom-ah,” the Alpha mutters. “That kid’s watched more horror movies than I've had hot dinners.”

“Lightbulb!” Sitting up suddenly a little further along the couch, Jackson lifts a hand to whack Mark’s chest in his enthusiasm. “What if we used bugs?”

Youngjae makes a quiet noise of alarm, fingers suddenly gripping at Jaebum’s sleeve tightly.

“Bugs?”

“Fake bugs,” Jackson quickly clarifies, clearly sensing the Omega’s unease. “Plastic ones.”

“Will that really be scary enough for a hidden camera prank?” Jinyoung questions, quirking a doubtful eyebrow. “This is _Yugyeom_ we’re talking about. I don’t think he’s gonna give much of a reaction to insects-”

The female PD clears her throat quietly, and JB taps Jinyoung’s knee to get the younger Alpha to stop talking long enough to listen.

“It isn’t going to be a jumpscare prank,” she elaborates. “It’s something a little more complex than that. Think of it like a scene from a drama, only you’ll be playing yourselves and it’ll all be improvised."  _(So not really like a drama at all,_ Jaebum thinks wryly.) "Essentially, we want to keep the prank going for as long as we can – ten minutes or more, if possible. Our intention is to turn it into an episode of _Real GOT7,_ provided Yugyeom-ah is fooled as planned.”

Jaebum’s familiar enough with their ongoing behind-the-scenes series, but so far it’s mostly been group games and slightly awkward Q&A’s (and a random, unplanned birthday party that one time), nothing the group has really had to prepare for in advance. The filming had previously been squeezed into their already-cramped schedule, slotted between photoshoots and dance practice and promo fanmeets (and half the time they were so exhausted that it was almost a disappointment when the staff began to set up the filming equipment whenever the group had chance to breathe for more than five seconds). So it’s nice that they’re getting a proper heads-up this time; it’ll mean they can prepare beforehand and go into it with the right mindset.

“We’ve gone over potential scenarios with the managers,” the male director adds. “But since your free time tomorrow is fairly limited due to existing schedules, we figured it’d be easier just to do the prank here, in the studio. Now, we’ve already discussed this with Hyeong-ssi, who’s supposed to be teaching your choreography class tomorrow evening; he’s agreed to help us out. He’ll be the one who triggers the scene off, so to speak. Once he leaves the room, that’s when the scene will really begin.”

“Sorry,” BamBam murmurs, peeking out from the other side of Jackson, his hand raised tentatively. “Um, I don’t really understand what’s going on.”

Mark pats the teenager’s knee reassuringly. “We’ll explain it after, okay? Let PD-nim finish.”

“I need you all to turn up for class a little early,” the older man continues on as though uninterrupted. “But don’t tell Yugyeom-ah, it’s important that he arrives here unaccompanied. When he checks in at reception, one of the managers will take him upstairs for an impromptu interview – we’ll tell him that your instructor already knows about the change in schedule, but for the sake of the prank, Hyeong-ssi will deny all knowledge. When Yugyeom-ah finally turns up to practice, he’ll be at least half an hour late, maybe more, at which point Hyeong-ssi will pretend to be offended, refuse to teach the class and leave before Yugyeom can properly explain himself. After that, the situation will be in your hands.”

There’s a long beat of silence, before suddenly Jinyoung’s leaning forwards in his seat.

“You want us to act upset,” he guesses blankly (a tone Jaebum suspects he’s using to mask his sarcasm. “Fool Gyeomie into thinking we’re angry about class being cancelled? That’s the prank?”

“Well…more or less.”

“Wait, we’re supposed to scold him for being late?” Jackson presses, his brow creasing ever so slightly as he shares a quick sideways glance with Mark. “Even though he won’t have done anything wrong?”

The director nods. “Yugyeom-ah won’t understand what’s happening. That’s the essence of a hidden camera prank; he’ll be the only one who doesn’t know it’s a set-up. So you’ll need to act as offended as possible – not excessively so, your behaviour needs to seem _real_ enough to fool him – and even though his explanation for why he’s late will be perfectly reasonable, you all have to act as though it's not. Keep the conflict going as long as you can; maybe even argue a little amongst yourselves and take sides. Make it look like you’re ready to walk out on each other.”

“What, pretend we’re angry enough to split up?” Jackson laughs incredulously, clapping his hands together. “All because Gyeomie skipped dance class? That’s so extra, man. Yah, Jinyoung-ah! You ate my gimbap last week, I’m moving back to Hong Kong!”

The rest of the group laugh at the Alpha’s dramatics, but Jaebum keeps his attention turned towards the two directors as they nod, chuckling.

“It sounds ridiculous, I know, but the whole idea is to overreact to the situation as much as possible. It’ll make it more amusing for your fans,” the male PD encourages. “Your arguments are going to feel pretty irrational, because they _will be,_ but that’s what’ll make it such a good prank; your maknae’s going to be confused as to why you're all taking it so seriously.”

He stands, the female director along with him, and GOT7 quickly jump up from the couch to bow to them politely.

“Talk about it amongst yourselves, alright?” the man suggests cheerfully. “Try to plan out some basic dialogue, if you can – it’ll make it easier to keep up the act. We’ll see you tomorrow!”

The idols retake their seats, giving way to another long, silent pause once the staff members have departed, broken only by a shuffling noise from Youngjae as the Omega moves to sit sideways in Jaebum’s lap. The elder vocalist wraps an arm around his Packmate automatically, lost in his own thoughts.

“You really think he’ll fall for it?” Youngjae asks after a few moments, voicing what they’re all thinking.

Jinyoung hums, considering. “If it were me and you guys were blowing something way out of proportion, the first thing I’d do is suspect that someone was pulling my leg. But Gyeomie's not like that.”

“Dude, the first thing you’d do is get _mad,_ ” Jackson counters with a laugh. “Like hell you’d just sit there and let JB-hyung scold you for something that wasn’t your fault.”

Jaebum smirks a little and nudges Jinyoung in the side. “He’s got a point.”

“Wait, what if Gyomie gets mad at us?” Youngjae worries aloud, glancing up from where he’s been absently fiddling with the ring on JB’s right hand.

Jinyoung snorts at that. “I think we’re safe. I’ve known the kid three years now, and I’ve never once seen him lose it.”

“Maybe so, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea to gang up on him,” Mark comments quietly, in that hushed and unaffected tone of his that somehow always gets everyone else to shut up and listen (JB’s been trying for months to replicate the Beta’s superpower, but to no avail). “I get that it’s a prank, but I know _I’d_ feel pretty crap if I had six people yelling at me all at once. We can do the scenario PD-nim suggested, but let’s not be bastards about it, okay?”

“Hyung!” Jinyoung chokes out a laugh, surprised by the man’s blunt language.

The Beta shrugs unapologetically, his gaze meeting Jaebum’s. “Some of us need to come to his defence.”

Jackson’s hand shoots straight up, like a particularly enthusiastic kindergarten student and not the high school graduate that he actually is. “Ooh, me! I want to challenge Jaebum-hyung.”

JB arches an eyebrow at the younger Alpha. “You’re just looking for an excuse to hit me, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely,” the Hong Kong native confirms, flashing him a brilliant smile.

Jaebum sighs, but there’s a grin tugging at his own lips. “Okay, fine. Mark and Jackson can play the good guys,” he concludes. “As leader, I guess it’s down to me to be the stern hyung? Unless we decide to let Youngjae-yah and Bammie do the scolding.”

The others laugh along with him at the suggestion (their Omega and youngest Beta aren’t really the scolding type), but there’s a persistent, niggling sort of doubt at the back of his mind that worsens the more he considers tomorrow’s proposed scenario. Something in his chest sort of _twangs_ a bit at the thought of raising his voice to his youngest without genuine provocation. Jaebum knows he has a bit of a temper on occasion, but he’s always been careful not to snap at the other members if he can help it, especially the maknae line. And now that they’re an official group, now that they’re a _Pack_ with those tentative bonds only just beginning to settle and solidify, he’s even more reluctant to lash out at the teenager so suddenly.

Honestly speaking, Yugyeom’s such a quiet and polite teenager – beneath the shy exterior, the kid’s got a fun sense of humour and loves to play and tease (especially with Jinyoung), but he always listens well and goes out of his way to respect his hyungs. Jaebum can count on one hand the number of times he’s had to speak firmly to the teenager in the past, and it’s always been over fairly minor infractions like forgotten chores at the dorm. Nothing that’s ever required any serious intervention, certainly.

“Hyung?” BamBam pipes up, and then asks something in English that Jaebum isn’t able to translate.

Jackson and Mark both seem to find is amusing, however, the latter throwing an arm around the younger Beta and drawing him into a sideways hug as he replies in English, laughter in his voice. Jaebum leans forwards a little, peering towards them curiously.

“BamBam doesn’t want to be angry at Yugyeom-ah,” Mark elaborates in Korean, catching his eye. “He says his acting’s not good enough.”

Aish. Their second-youngest is too damn  _cute._

“That’s okay, cub,” Jaebum reassures, smiling fondly at the teenager. “Just try your hardest not to laugh and give the secret away, alright?”

The Thai rapper gives him a double thumbs-up. “I’ll be as straight-faced as statue, honest. Gyeomie won’t suspect a thing.”

“In all fairness, our maknae’s a gullible puppy,” Jinyoung reminds him with a smirk, nudging Jaebum in the side. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much if I were you. This time tomorrow, we’ll all being laughing about how easily he fell for the prank, I guarantee it.”

The Pack-Alpha finally allows himself to push his doubts aside, returning the younger man’s easy grin. Jinyoung’s right; there’s nothing to worry about. It might confuse Yugyeom at first, but the teen’s a good sport, and JB's confident he’ll be able to see the funny side of things afterwards. The kid isn’t the type to hold a grudge, and even if he _does_ feel a little put-out, it’ll be nothing a tub of ice cream and a good cuddle won’t fix. That’s always worked with his youngest before.

Everything’s going to be _fine._

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

**_Come say hi to me on[Tumblr!](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com/) :)_ **


	2. Hidden Camera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugyeom gets pranked. It's awful.

.

“Well done, Yugyeom-ssi, I think that’s enough for today. You should probably head on downstairs and join the rest of your group in for dance practice.”

“Yes!” the teenager agrees, perhaps a little _too_ eagerly, standing up quickly and grabbing his backpack from underneath the table as he bows to the staff members. “Thank you for your time.”

He beats a hasty retreat before (god forbid) one of the PDs changes their mind and thinks up another question, shutting the conference room door behind him and breathing a quiet sigh of relief as he hurries off down the corridor.

Aish, why are interviews always so _exhausting?_

It’s not that he dislikes either of the staff members (they were both friendly and professional, helping to prompt him when he got stuck on a few questions), but maintaining casual dialogue in front of a camera just isn’t really his thing, especially when it’s a _solo_ interview. He can manage well enough if the rest of the group are there, when all he has to do is offer occasional input if and playful remarks, but the burden of needing to carry the weight of an interview all by himself without his hyungs there to step in and answer for him when he gets stuck? He _hates_ that kind of pressure.

Still, it could’ve been worse. They’d asked him to draw GOT7 as cartoon figures for the second half of the hour-long interview, so at least that had given him a valid excuse not to talk much for a little while. And the PDs seemed pretty happy with the session overall (even though Yugyeom knows he’d definitely fumbled his way awkwardly through at least half of the questions), but that’s probably because they’ll be able to edit out all the long pauses and stupid answers later on. At least it hadn’t been a live interview; the managers probably know better than to spring that on him if they want his image to remain intact.

Compared to what he’s been through already this evening, his dance class with the others is gonna be a total _breeze._

Yugyeom finishes eating one of the snacks that the producers had given him (at least there were _some_ benefits to being forced into doing a solo interview without any time to prepare) as he takes the elevator to the ground floor of the building, wondering how much of the dance class he’s actually missed. Their choreography teacher normally opts to do extensive warm-ups before they go over any of the stage routines, so maybe the group will only just be starting choreo practice? His manager had reassured him that Hyeong was already aware of the interview, so in all likelihood the man’s probably extended the warmup even more than usual to wait on his arrival.

Yugyeom heads down the backstairs to the basement-level studio that’s become their own in recent months, finding it a little strange that he can’t hear any music as he approaches. Maybe the guys are taking a break or something?

“Hello,” he greets softly, closing the door behind him and quickly moving to set down his backpack, pulling off his cap as he spares a brief glance towards his hyungs where they’re seated near the far wall.

Nobody returns the greeting, which strikes him as odd, but maybe everyone’s just tired from practicing? Only none of them look particularly flushed or sweaty…and that’s even _more_ unusual, because there’s no way Hyeong-ssi will have easy on them during warmup; he never does.

Yugyeom approaches the group, his smile fading a little as he glances towards their instructor and notices the strange, serious sort of look the Omega’s giving him.

“You’re late,” Hyeong says, the note of irritation in his voice surprising Yugyeom. “What time were you supposed to be here?”

“I…but, the interview,” he replies stumblingly, unprepared for sudden confrontation. “I came down as soon as it finished, hyung-nim, but there were a lot of questions-”

“That’s not what I asked you, kid,” the instructor interrupts, glancing back down at his phone with a short, sharp sigh. “What time were you _supposed_ to be here?”

Yugyeom peers towards his hyungs for reassurance, but finds them all looking equal parts grim and annoyed. Something in his chests _twists,_ a nervous sort of uncertainty brewing beneath his sternum at the palpable tension he can sense in the room, and he averts his gaze just as quickly, fingers tugging on the sleeves of his coat.

“PD-nim wouldn’t let me come downstairs until after my interview,” he explains, carefully polite. “I wasn’t even allowed to drop off my bag, she said I had to go straight upstairs-”

“Class started at seven-thirty, Yugyeom-ah,” Hyeong tells him bluntly. “And now it’s eight forty-five. I’ve waited an hour for you, kid. An _hour._ You made all of us wait. Do you honestly think any of you can afford to waste time so close to performance season? You have stages to prepare for, and I’m supposed to be the one who perfects your choreography - how exactly am I supposed to achieve that when someone decides not to turn up to class?”

Taken aback by the stern words from his normally-placid dance teacher, Yugyeom quickly bows to the Omega in apology…but Hyeong’s already standing up from his stool with a loud, irritated sigh, adjusting his cap as he shoves his phone back in his pocket.

“If you’re going to take advantage of my patience like this, I won’t be teaching you; it’s as simple as that.”

As the instructor stalks towards the exit, the rest of the group jump up quickly, calling out apologies as they bow to the man. The slam of the studio door echoes loudly in the heavy beat of silence that follows, and Yugyeom just stands there dumbly, confused and embarrassed and ashamed all at once.

_What just happened?_

There’s really only one logical conclusion to draw from all of this; it seems the managers _hadn’t_ discussed his interview schedule with Hyeong-ssi after all.

Aigoo, no wonder the man felt disrespected by Yugyeom’s lateness. He probably thought that the teen had been lazing around back at the dorm, or something. _Fuck,_ what a mess. Yugyeom _hates_ causing trouble like this, especially when it comes to people he cares about, and whose opinion really matters to him. Hyeong’s usually so warm and friendly, always greeting him with a smile and a pat on the shoulder like an affectionate uncle; being scolded by the man in front of all his hyungs feels _horrible._

“Why were you late?”

Yugyeom glances up quickly to find Jaebum regarding him with a hard look, and feels another uneasy twinge in his chest at the Alpha’s unusual sternness. He’s seen his leader angry before, but rarely (almost never, as a matter of fact) directed towards _him._ And he doesn’t like it. He wants to rewind the clock five minutes and go back to that happy-relieved feeling he’d been buzzing with after finishing the interview upstairs.

“There was something I had to do,” he answers, trying to gather his scattered wits in the wake of Hyeong’s sudden and unexpected departure. “An interview thing? They said it’s for _Real GOT7._ ”

From his seat on the couch, Jinyoung gusts out a frustrated sigh. “You should’ve told us about it first, Yugyeom-ah. Since when do personal schedules come before group activities? You could’ve done the interview afterwards.”

“They told me you already knew,” Yugyeom insists earnestly. “And manager-nim said he was going to talk with Hyeong-ssi about it so he could start class without me. I didn’t mean to be late, honest. I just did as I was told, hyung. I’m _sorry._ ”

Jaebum closes the distance between them in a few measured strides, his hardened expression still in place, and Yugyeom does his best not to shrink back even though it’s pretty damn intimidating. The Alpha usually exudes natural authority without even trying, but right now he really _seems_ to be trying, and it’s just a _teensy_ bit terrifying.

“We had a lesson,” the Pack-Alpha reminds him, and Yugyeom nods quickly, ducking his gaze a little from JB’s piercing eyes. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Then it was _your_ responsibility to let the rest of us know about your schedule,” Jaebum continues firmly. “You can’t rely on manager-nim to do everything for you, Yugyeom-ah, you’re not a little kid anymore.”

Now that’s just _unfair._ What does his age have to do with any of this? That argument doesn’t even make any sense.

“PD-noona wouldn’t let me,” he reiterates, trying his hardest not to sound upset. “I asked if I could drop my bag off first, but she said I had to start the interview right away because they had another schedule with the camera afterwards.”

“Aish.” Jaebum shakes his head with a long sigh, arms folded across his chest. “Is that the only reason you can come up with? Don’t you understand what you’ve done? Our lesson’s been cancelled because of you.”

Yugyeom is beginning to feel a little bit desperate. Why is JB being so _unreasonable?_ His Alpha’s never acted like this before. The man has always been so supportive and understanding; he’s always _listened_ to whatever Yugyeom has to say, even if the maknae’s been in the wrong.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, feeling a little bit like a broken record. How many times has he said that already? “I didn’t mean to-”

“Why did you go alone to do an interview for _Real GOT7,_ anyway?” Jinyoung asks suddenly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “We’re a team, aren’t we? We’ve never done solo interviews before. What, did you want the camera all to yourself?”

It’s a baseless accusation, and so completely untrue that for a moment Yugyeom can’t even find the words to deny it.

How… _how_ could Jinyoung say something like that, when he knows better than anyone just how much Yugyeom hates interviews? In recent months, the youngest Alpha has often been the one to seat himself beside Yugyeom during press talks and pre-debut fan events, resting a hand over the teenager’s jittering knee beneath the table and helping to distract him from his unsettled nerves with playful teasing and idle conversation. He’s _never_ been an attention-seeker; honestly, the less time he spends talking in front of a camera, the better. He always feels so _awkward,_ and he hates knowing that the fans will probably pick up on that too.

“We’re all supposed to be doing them,” Yugyeom finally answers, thankful that his voice remains level despite the tightness in his chest. “Manager-nim says the rest of the interviews will probably be filmed later this week.”

Jaebum scoffs quietly. “Then how come none of the rest of us have heard about it before now? We already have our schedules planned out until Saturday. Don’t you think somebody would’ve come and told me about this sooner if they really wanted to film something between our classes this week?”

Yugyeom blinks, stunned speechless, taking a moment to process the man’s words as he glances around at the hardened faces of his older hyungs. Mark and Jackson look as serious as he’s ever seen them, and Jinyoung is actually looking _genuinely_ pissed instead of the faux-stern fussing he tends to fall back on whenever he and Yugyeom start bickering together.

BamBam…hell, the Thai rapper won’t even _look_ at him from his seat on the couch, his head bowed and a hand covering the lower half of his face – clearly his best friend shares the rest of the group’s low opinion of him, and won’t be coming to Yugyeom’s defence any time soon. And then there’s Youngjae wearing a resting bitch-face, an expression Yugyeom can’t ever remember seeing on the Omega before today.

A queer, sickly sort of feeling trickles its way down from sternum to naval, accumulating into a cold ball of weight that sits heavily in his stomach, making him feel a little queasy.

“You don’t believe me,” he realises, his voice hushed.

He’s so _confused._ First they were angry because he hadn’t told them about the interview, then they were accusing him of being selfish about his screentime on _Real GOT7,_ and now they think he’s making it all up? Why are they all acting so _weird?_ His explanation isn’t totally unreasonable, is it? It makes sense to _him._ What is he missing here? Nothing they’re saying is making any goddamn sense, he just wants to _scream_.

“You all think I’m lying, don’t you?”

“We never said that,” Jaebum argues, his tone marginally less harsh than before. “We’re just trying to understand what went wrong. Why are you acting out all of a sudden? You’ve never been a brat like this before.”

The teenager sucks in a sharp breath at the accusation, a dull ache lancing through his chest at the realisation that his Alpha thinks he’s causing trouble on _purpose_.

“Hyung, no, I’m not-“

“Yah,” Jinyoung cuts in sharply. “Hyeong-ssi waited over an hour for you, kid. Don’t you understand how serious the situation is? If he goes to JYP about this, it’ll reflect badly on _all_ of us, not just you. It could mean the end of _GOT7,_ for all we know.”

Panic cuts like a knife through Yugyeom’s heart, although he tries his best not to let it show in his expression, instead ducking his head contritely. He’s always been good at that – hiding how he’s feeling from the rest of the Pack. Being unpresented is a blessing in that sense; he doesn’t have to worry about his scent giving him away whenever something makes him angry or upset, the way it does with Youngjae and the Alphas.

“Do you still have nothing to say?” Jaebum asks. “You can’t even apologise properly, can you?”

The Alpha abruptly turns on his heel and marches towards the exit, Jinyoung calling out after him. The slam of the door echoes in the studio for the second time that evening, and Yugyeom reaches behind him until he feels the smooth surface of the wall, stepping back to sag against it a little for support, his knees feeling weak.

“How could he just leave like that?” Jinyoung asks, throwing his arms up in a frustrated gesture. “We haven’t resolved _anything._ Are we a team or aren’t we, seriously.”

Jackson sighs, getting up from the couch and moving across the studio, pulling off his cap and using the mirror to fix his hair. Yugyeom can’t see his expression from where he’s standing, but he’s sure the Alpha looks tense. Everyone does. And BamBam _still_ hasn’t lifted his gaze from his lap – does the Beta really hate him that much? They’ve never fallen out with each other before, Yugyeom doesn’t like it.

“I don’t know what else to say,” he manages after another beat of silence, his voice plaintive but miraculously un-wobbly (despite how tremulous the rest of him is feeling). “I just did as I was told. Seng-noona told me to go straight upstairs and come down after the interview was finished, so that’s what I did. And I’m _sorry_ Hyeong-ssi was waiting for me all that time, but I didn’t know, I promise. Why can’t you accept my apology?”

Jinyoung tilts his head back towards the ceiling with a sigh. “Because you did something _wrong,_ Yugyeom-ah.”

“You could’ve just texted us or something,” Youngjae supplies, speaking up for the first time as he moves to join Jinyoung, leaning against the Alpha’s side. “Even if they wouldn’t let you come downstairs, what was stopping you from sending JB-hyung a message? If you’d done that, none of us would be mad.”

“I…I don’t have my phone with me,” the maknae replies, and even to his own ears the excuse sounds pretty pathetic. “I swear I left it in my backpack earlier, but when I checked this afternoon it was gone.”

Jinyoung just arches a doubtful eyebrow at the maknae, an expression that somehow manages to cut him far more deeply than any words could.

“I’m not _lying,_ ” he insists, resisting the urge to stamp his foot (or maybe burst into tears) out of sheer frustration. “I’m telling you the truth!”

“Are you raising your voice to us now?” Jaebum criticises, coming back into the room so suddenly that Yugyeom actually startles, his already-racing heart pounding even fast. “Aish, what’s wrong with you? You make me angry on so many levels.”

Yugyeom grits his teeth against the overwhelming wave of _something_ that he can feel slowly rising up inside of him. It’s becoming harder and harder to keep his expression from betraying those emotions, and if JB keeps pushing at him like this, he’s going to crack in front of everyone, he just knows it. And he doesn’t want that to happen, he _really_ doesn’t.

He hates crying in front of people; the only members of the team who’ve seen him break down are Jaebum and Jinyoung, who’ve known him much longer than any of the others. Crying in front of everyone (and in the studio, no less) would be so humiliating.  

“Hey, calm down,” Mark intervenes quietly, stepping in to lay a hand on JB’s shoulder, turning the Pack-Alpha away from Yugyeom for a moment. “He’s only trying to explain what happened.”

God bless Mark; the only one of his hyungs who apparently hasn’t had a total personality transplant in the past few hours.

“I think it’s pretty obvious what happened,” Jaebum counters grimly, turning back towards the maknae. “Gyeomie knew ahead of time that he was going to be late to class, but he couldn’t be bothered to let us know. Isn’t that what you’re implying, kid? That your own schedule means more to you than the success of our team.”

Yugyeom shakes his head adamantly. “No, I’d _never-_ hyung, you can’t seriously think that I’d…” He steps forward, lightly catching hold of JB’s sleeve, gazing imploringly at the Pack-Alpha. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Why won’t you believe me? I thought Hyeong-ssi already knew about the interviews because of what manager-nim said and I…aigoo, I’m really sorry, okay? I didn’t _know_ everyone was waiting for me.”

“Seriously?” Jaebum pulls away from the maknae’s grasp, arching a brow at him. “Is that it?”

“I don’t know what you _want_ me to say,” Yugyeom blurts, his voice finally shifting from contrite-dongsaeng to the tone of frustrated desperation that’s been bubbling up for quite some time now.

Jaebum narrows his eyes a little in warning. “Mind your tone, cub.”

“This is pissing me off,” Jinyoung suddenly groans, slipping into dialect as he rakes a hand through his hair in frustration. “Okay, so he had an individual schedule, we know that now. Why are we doing this to him? Let’s just drop it already.”

It’s such a total one-eighty from the merciless interrogation the man had been subjecting him to only a few minutes ago that Yugyeom feels like he’s suffered a form of mental whiplash in the process. One moment the Alpha seemed to hate his guts, and now Jinyoung’s defending him from JB’s scolding?

What the hell is going on?

Yugyeom’s grateful (so _fucking_ grateful, he’d literally been seconds away from shattering into a thousand pieces), but now he’s even _more_ confused.

“If you have a complaint, take it outside,” Jaebum replies. “We can discuss it there.”

Jinyoung sighs and stomps towards the door, and after a few tense moments, Jaebum follows behind, his shoulders squared as though preparing for a fight.

They wouldn’t, would they? Oh god, Yugyeom hopes not. He’s seen the two Alphas get into heated disagreements before (they both have short tempers on occasion, and they’ve known each other long enough that age and hierarchy often bear no significance when they go head-to-head), but it never escalates to actual _physical_ altercations. JB isn’t the violent type. To his knowledge, the only person the Alpha has ever punched is that one American trainee who’d constantly been bullying Yugyeom a couple of years back.

“Hey,” Jackson murmurs, stepping up beside him out of nowhere, a gentle hand rubbing circles against the maknae’s lower back. “You okay, puppy?”

Yugyeom nods wordlessly, swallowing past the aching lump that’s swelling in his throat. Part of him finds comfort in the Alpha’s reassurance, craving his touch like a man starved, but a much bigger part of him is already starting to splinter and fall apart at the sudden gentleness. He’d been prepared for more scolding, but _kindness?_ It’s going to be his undoing.

If Jackson hugs him now, that’ll be it; game over.

A slender hand slips into his own, lacing their fingers together in a soft squeeze, and Yugyeom glances sideways to find Mark studying him quietly, the small smile at the corner of the Beta’s mouth fading after a few moments as a crease of concern forms in his brow.

“Gyeomie,” he starts, sharing a quick, meaningful glance with Jackson that Yugyeom can’t even begin to interpret. “Hey, it’s alright. JB isn’t really-”

“Do you have something else to say to me?” Jaebum asks, stalking back into the studio and over to where the trio are stood together near the opposite wall, Jinyoung following on his heels a moment later.

There are no visible injuries on either man, so Yugyeom takes that as a good sign. Maybe they didn’t get into a fight after all. It was stupid of him to even think that, Jaebum would _never_ throw a punch at a member of his own Pack.

“At least have the decency to say it to my face,” the Alpha continues sharply. “Don’t talk behind my back.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Jackson protests, stepping between JB and Yugyeom. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong. We weren’t even talking about you.”

“No? But you wanted to, didn’t you? Either speak up, or get out.

“Dude,” Jackson gestures towards Yugyeom emphatically, “he’s already apologised, like, twenty times. Can’t we leave him alone now? It was just one mistake. Back off, okay?”

Yugyeom sucks in a shaky breath as he watches the two Alphas face each other, his hand gripping Mark’s a little tighter as the tension in the room rises. God, this is all so messed up – his stupid oversight has snowballed into something much bigger and ten times more complicated than he would’ve thought possible. Everything’s dissolving into chaos around him, and all because he showed up late to class? He doesn’t understand how something so simple could’ve caused so much damage in such a short space of time, but there’s no denying that pretty much _everything_ is fucked up now.

Aigoo, their stage performances are due to start two weeks from today, how on earth are they going to fix their broken relationships enough to practice efficiently as a team? They’ve never had a fight like this before, all seven at them at odds and unhappy with one another. And JB doesn’t seem to have any intention of stepping in as leader to calm things down any time soon; if anything, he seems to be acting as a _catalyst_ to the whole situation.

What if this is it? What if they _can’t_ mend the Pack-bond after this? The group’s going to fall apart, the Pack will have to break up, and it’ll all be his fault…

“Guys,” Mark says, his voice soft but urgent. “That’s enough.”

But Jackson’s already pulling off his cap, throwing it aside as he yanks his shirt over his head and marches up to Jaebum, shoving him forcefully in the chest. The Pack-Alpha stumbles back, eyes wide in shock and lips parted.

“Yah!”

Jackson shoves at him a second time. “I said _back off.”_

“Stop it! What are you _doing?_ ” Jinyoung inserts himself between them with a breathy laugh (how the hell is this funny to him, how is _any_ of this funny?), pushing the two Alphas apart and inserting himself between them. “Are you kidding me?”

BamBam has jumped up from his seat on the couch to loosely wrap his arms around Jackson’s waist from behind, keeping him from rushing at Jaebum a third time. The maknae-Beta seems to share Jinyoung’s shocked amusement, a strange out-of-place smile curling at his lips, but Jackson still looks _pissed._ Jaebum, too.

They’re going to start punching each other any second now, Yugyeom just _knows_ it.

“Guys, that’s _enough,_ ” Mark repeats, and this time his voice is firmer and more authoritative, although his touch is gentle as he strokes a thumb over Yugyeom’s knuckles, never once releasing the maknae’s hand. “Let’s stop doing this.”

There’s a long beat of silence, the other members sharing lingering glances for a few seconds, seeming to communicate something that Yugyeom can’t even begin to fathom out. Jinyoung murmurs a quiet _“one, two, three”,_ and then suddenly they’re all pulling stupid poses and jumping up and down, laughing and whooping like they haven’t just been at each other’s throats.

What.

From the sound system nearby, _‘Girls Girls Girls’_ starts playing, booming out of the speakers as the rest of the group enthusiastically dance along to the music with exaggerated choreography, laughing and shoving at each other.

Realisation hits Yugyeom like a bucket of ice-cold water upended without warning over his head, stealing the breath from his lungs and freezing him in place as he stares at his Packmates dumbly for a few long seconds, blood pulsing loudly and rapidly in his ears.

Fuck. _Oh,_ thank fuck, it wasn’t real, none of it was real. They were all just _pretending._

He’s going to be sick.

Bringing his hands up to cover his face, Yugyeom starts to laugh – or, at least, the closest approximation to laughter that he can manage when he literally feels like dying on the inside – feeling hands jostle him playfully and ruffle his hair as he moves past them to a quieter area of the studio, hiding in the corner there and trying to force that big, scary wave of _feelings_ back down again before it all comes pouring out in front of everyone.

He’s fine, everything’s fine, it was all just a big _joke._ Nobody hates him, nobody hates each other, they aren’t going to disband, there’s _nothing_ to be upset about and-

Oh. Oh god, he’s crying.

“Don’t be mad at us, Gyeomie.” Jinyoung sing-songs laughingly in his ear, fingers gripping Yugyeom’s wrists to tug his hands away from his face. The maknae has enough time to register the man’s amused grin through his blurry, tear-filled vision before it’s suddenly morphing into a look of surprise. “Wait, are you crying?”

The laughter in the studio dies down immediately, and there’s a sudden rush of footsteps towards him before Jaebum is there, wrapping his strong arms around the teenager in a tight hug, hooking his chin over Yugyeom’s shoulder as he holds him close.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” the Alpha soothes, audibly concerned (alarmed, even?), as he strokes a hand over the back of the teen’s neck, smoothing down his hair. “Shhh, I’m sorry, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

Yugyeom’s sense of smell might not be as heightened as the rest of the Pack’s, but Jaebum’s scent is still soothing enough to settle a little of the residual fear in his chest, easing the tightness there that’s been making it difficult to breathe.

Unfortunately, the hug is quite effectively demolishing the last of his pitiful inner-defences, and even though he desperately wants to do as he’s told, there’s just _no way_ he can stop crying, not now. Maybe not _ever._ He just feels so sad and relieved and upset and embarrassed and hurt, hurt, _hurt-_

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” multiple voices chorus, bodies pressing against him on all sides in a giant Pack-cuddle, and although he can still hear a note of residual laughter in their voices from the prank, there’s worry there too, and confusion.

That just makes him cry even harder, and he _hates_ it – hates how weak and broken he feels, how helpless he is to put the shattered pieces of himself back together and shrug it all off like Jackson or Jinyoung or even BamBam would. Maybe if he didn’t take things so personally, he wouldn’t feel like his heart’s been ripped out of his chest. But why hadn’t they stopped sooner? Didn’t they realise how _mean_ it was to scold him like that and pretend to fight? He’d been so scared.

“Why would you _do_ that?” he cries once he can breathe normally again, his voice thick with tears, his face still buried in his Pack-Alpha’s shoulder. “It’s so _unfair._ ”

“I know, I know,” Jaebum consoles, a warm hand gently squeezing his nape. “It was mean, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have done that to you. Shhh, don’t cry.”

“Could you give us a minute alone without the cameras?” Mark asks softly, and Yugyeom realises with a jolt that there must be a crew members nearby filming his breakdown as part of the prank.

God, he’s never felt so _humiliated._

Hearing the studio door close a few moments later, the maknae clings tighter to Jaebum’s hoodie, sucking in a shaky, hitching breath.

“Hyung, I…I wanna go home.”

A hand rubs comfortingly at the small of his back. “We can do that,” Jackson agrees. “Right, guys? They’re not still gonna make us stay behind and finish filming like this, are they?”

Jaebum breathes a short, grim-sounding sigh, and squeezes Yugyeom a little tighter. “I’ll go speak to the managers,” he murmurs. “Gyeomie? I need you to go to Jackson for a minute, okay?”

Yugyeom feels himself being carefully peeled away from Jaebum, and immediately lifts a hand to wipe at his damp cheeks, but finds warm fingers intercepting his own, tugging the hand away and replacing it with a wad of tissues.

“Here, cub,” Jinyoung murmurs, helping the maknae hold the tissues against his face as Jackson moves to take over from Jaebum, pulling the teenager into another firm embrace. “Bammie? Could you grab me a bottle of water or something?”

“Sure,” the younger boy agrees, his voice sounding smaller than usual.

Yugyeom wants to reassure his friend that he’s okay, but honestly? He doesn’t feel okay. He doesn’t feel even a _little_ bit okay.

And not just because he’s been dragged through an emotional hurricane over the course of these past fifteen minutes; there’s a weird heaviness in his body that hadn’t been there before, a painful sort of muscular ache that feels like he’s just woken up after doing a full-body workout at the gym. And he still kinda wants to throw up. Aish, he’d better not be getting sick on top of everything else he’s already been through today. Knowing his luck, that’s probably exactly it; trust him to come down with a cold at a time like this _._

The universe must _hate_ him. Things really can't get much worse than this.

 

 

 

* * *

 

_**Come say hi to me on[Tumblr!](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com/)**_

_**Also for those of you who might be interested, here's the[Hidden Camera episode of Real GOT7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n89-i7dqiZU) that some of this chapter's dialogue is lifted from. Be careful, it might make you cry. ** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JB, I love you dearly but YOU DONE FUCKED UP, BOY!
> 
> Now don't get me wrong, I 100% don't think it was the group's intention to make Yugyeom cry/feel upset when they started the prank, because by all accounts up until that point he'd probably seemed like the sort of maknae who could take a bit of scolding and criticism without getting hurt. But my poor baby cried so hard at the end of that episode, and I genuinely hated the rest of the guys for a good 24 hours afterwards. Until I watched and re-watched the part where they all cuddled him afterwards and saw that, despite JB's laughter, he seemed genuinely quite shocked by Yugyeom's reaction.
> 
> Obviously in this particular ABO universe, my JB comes with all the protective instincts of a doting Pack-Alpha, so he really doesn't find his maknae's reaction funny at all. Our dear leader has a bad case of The Guilts, and rightly so. He Done Fucked Up.
> 
> Yugyeom's not quite weathered the storm just yet, and there's thunderclouds brewing on the horizon, but at least there's cuddles. Right? *wincing smile*
> 
> Feel free to scream at me.


	3. Restless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugyeom isn't feeling so good.

.

Yugyeom can’t sleep.

It’s gone midnight already, and by all accounts he should’ve conked out the moment his head hit the pillow, given how _exhausted_ he’d been when they had finally returned to the dorms a few hours ago.

Everything still feels heavy and achy, a weird sort of tightness tugging at his muscles despite the long, hot shower he’d taken before going to bed in an effort ease the dull throbbing in his limbs (and if he’d used the running water as an excuse to have another good cry where his hyungs wouldn’t see it, well, they didn’t need to know about that).

Normally Yugyeom can fall sleep in just about any position; back, front, left side, right side, seated, upright, squashed against the arm of the couch during weekly movie-nights with Youngjae curled up half on top of him...the list goes on. Nodding off easily is simply a skill he’s developed and perfected during his time as a trainee. It’s really more of a survival skill, actually. Between schoolwork and dance classes and vocal practice and workouts and skincare regimes and preparing endlessly for debut, a good night’s rest has become an infrequent blessing. As a general rule of thumb, most of the Pack go to bed as early as their schedules will allow and sleep in as late as they can before it all starts again the next day.

Sleep, however, is proving to be frustratingly elusive tonight. And he knows _exactly_ why.

_“Why are you acting out all of a sudden? You’ve never been a brat like this before…”_

_“Yah! Don’t you understand how serious the situation is?”_

_“If he goes to JYP about this…it could mean the end of GOT7 for all we know.”_

_“Aish…you make me angry on so many levels…”_

The harsh words swirl around in his head, brutal snippets of their earlier conversation playing on a loop in the back of his mind to torment him, and it just won’t _stop._ He can still hear the censure in their voices, and every time he closes his eyes all he can see are the faces of his hyungs, staring back at him in cold detachment or poorly veiled annoyance, their expressions so totally out-of-place that the men almost seem like strangers.

Fuck, it’s all so _ridiculous_.

Why does he still feel upset about what happened back at the studio? It had only been a prank after all, just a dumb _joke_ for the fans to enjoy as part of their ongoing _Real GOT7_ series _._ He shouldn’t be taking it all so seriously. 

And anyway, what exactly is he going to achieve by feeling sorry for himself? What’s done is done, he can’t rewrite the past. Besides, the rest of the Pack have already apologised profusely for the whole thing, and promised to make it up to him.

Jinyoung and Jackson had fussed over his tears in the immediate aftermath of the prank, helping Yugyeom clean up his face and pressing a cold compress to his eyes so they wouldn’t be too swollen in the morning, trying to crack half-hearted jokes to cheer him up a little as they sat together on the couch in the studio. Youngjae and BamBam had sought to achieve the same goal by spoiling him, bringing him iced drinks and ‘forbidden’ sugary snacks from the vending machines upstairs while they waited restlessly for the all-clear to go home. Outside the door to the studio, Jaebum and Mark had spoken at length to the staff in charge of documenting the prank, with the leader even going so far as to put his foot down at one point and firmly (albeit respectfully) refuse to continue shooting until they’d all had a chance to rest.

Yugyeom doesn’t doubt there’ll be ramifications for the Alpha’s stubbornness (it’s the first time any of them has dared to say ‘no’ to one of the PDs) and knowing that Jaebum had only behaved that way in order to protect _him…_

Aish. Now he feels guilty on top of everything else.

He just doesn’t understand why it _hurts_ so much. That cold, sickly ache in his chest is still there, a dull echo of the crushing sensation that had initially welled up when Jaebum and the others had first turned on him. Having all six of them treating him so coldly, the hyung-line looking at him like he was just a great big _disappointment,_ Jinyoung even going so far as to accuse him of wanting the camera’s attention all to himself…

Fuck, he could burst into tears again here and now, he’s only barely holding it in. What’s _wrong_ with him? Why can’t he just let this go?

None of the others would be lying awake like this in the middle of the night, stewing in their own misery. And that horrible feeling of loneliness is all his own doing, anyway – both Mark and Jackson had offered to let him sleep in their room tonight, and Jaebum had been almost adamant about having the maknae stay with himself and Jinyoung until Yugyeom had managed to convince him otherwise.

 _“Look, I’m fine,”_ he’d insisted, tired and upset and embarrassed and absolutely _desperate_ to lock himself away in the bathroom in order to hide his approaching tears beneath the shower’s spray. _“Can’t we just talk about it tomorrow, hyung? Please? I’m tired, I don’t wanna think about it anymore. I just need some space, okay?”_

Jaebum had eyed him critically for a long moment, studying his expression so intently that the maknae had fought not to squirm in place beneath his scrutiny, before the Alpha finally heaved a quiet sigh and gave Yugyeom’s shoulders a gentle squeeze.

 _“Okay,”_ his leader had agreed softly, reluctantly. _“We’ll talk things over in the morning, pup. But I want you to promise me that you’ll wake up BamBam or come find one of your Alphas if you need anything, alright? Even if it’s just a hug. Promise me, cub.”_

 _“I promise,”_ the teenager echoed dutifully. _“But don’t worry, I’ll sleep just fine with Bammie and Youngjae-hyung.”_

Yugyeom’s seriously beginning to regret that decision now. The thought of being cuddled up with his older hyungs – between Mark and Jackson, or Jaebum and Jinyoung…fuck. It’d be so _perfect._ His weary body aches just thinking about it.

He’s restless beneath the blankets, his skin too hot and too _tight,_ and he just knows intrinsically that a little tactile comfort from one of his Packmates will be enough to put all those discomforts to rest.

Aish, he wants a goddamn cuddle. He wants it so bad he could _cry._

_Wait, wait, no, don’t. Don’t cry. Fuck._

“BamBam?” he whispers, rolling over to face his friend, swallowing past the lump that’s threatening to form in his throat. “Bammie, are you awake?”

The Beta stirs on the padded mat beside him with a quiet sigh, still fast asleep. Youngjae’s tussled hair is peeking out beneath the blanket on the other side of the rapper, the Omega half-buried beneath the covers and, as per usual, sleeping like the dead.

Yugyeom gnaws on his bottom lip, hesitating for a moment before reaching out towards the Thai rapper’s hand where it rests on the pillow beside his head. BamBam won’t mind being cuddled, right? Yugyeom’s never been super-tactile before unless he’s feeling rundown or upset, but Bammie’s always hugging (or being hugged by) one of the others. Yugyeom doesn’t even need it to be a _prolonged_ hug, just a quick one, enough that his racing heart might settle and he won’t feel like his body’s about to explode.

He freezes before his fingers actually make contact.

_Stop it. You’re stronger than this._

What is he doing? Yugyeom isn’t a _baby._ It wouldn’t be fair to wake up his best friend just because he needs a hug. He can cope just fine on his own, _god,_ he seriously needs to pull himself together and go the fuck to sleep.

His skin prickles with renewed heat, and he kicks off the blankets agitatedly, dragging a hand down his face to wipe away the layer of perspiration that’s built up there. It’s still winter in Seoul, and the apartment heating is supposed to be linked to a thermostat, so why the hell does it feel like a sauna in here? Did someone switch the heating onto full by accident? Is the thermostat broken?

Finding himself unable to bear the increasing temperature for more than a few minutes longer, Yugyeom pushes himself up from the mat, biting back a whimper at the deep muscle-aches that make their presence known as soon as he moves. The dull throbbing at the small of his back flares to life in a sudden, sharp twinge of pain, his body renewing its efforts to make him feel like absolute shit.

It fucking _sucks._

And just like that, his eyes are starting to burn wetly and his throat is closing up again and _fuck,_ why is this enough to make him cry? He shouldn’t be crying. His body’s ached worse than this after a tough session at the gym, why is he getting so irrationally upset?

_Stop it._

Dashing away the tears in frustration, he heads towards the door, careful not to wake BamBam or Youngjae as he steps over the obstacles in his path. He’ll grab a glass of water from the kitchen, that’ll calm him down.

A cold drink, a chance to cool off a bit, and he’ll feel back to normal in no time. He’s sure of it.

 

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

“You can’t keep blaming yourself,” Jinyoung murmurs, gently rotating the band of metal on Jabeum’s pinky finger.

The Pack-Alpha’s lost weight, Jinyoung realises; the engraved ring doesn’t fit him as snugly as it once did, back when they were still promoting as _JJ Project._ A lot of things have changed since then, actually. This Jaebum might only be two years older than the enthusiastic teenager who’d poured all his heart and energy into producing _Bounce_ back in 2012, but he’s certainly more mature; no longer the carefree trainee that Jinyoung had first become acquainted with all those years ago. The weight of responsibility often sits heavily on JB’s shoulders, especially with GOT7 being a barely-known rookie group fresh out of the gate and still struggling to gain recognition amongst bigger and better stars in the industry. And the man has a bad habit of placing any and all blame for their perceived shortcomings on himself.

The main issue boils down to the fact that Jaebum simply cares _too much;_ about the group and their success, about the health of his cubs (especially the maknaes), about the tentative Pack-bonds they’ve already begun to form with one another, about the seven-year contract they’ve all signed that’ll dictate their future together as  _GOT7_. The Alpha’s got a lot on his plate, that’s certainly true, but when it comes to taking the fall for things, he’s really not very good at sharing.

“I should’ve known better,” the elder mutters, tipping his head back against the couch cushions, his free hand still idly playing with Jinyoung’s hair where the younger Alpha’s upper body rests in his lap. “What on earth possessed me to go after the kid like that? I should’ve said no when PD-nim first pitched the idea to us, this whole prank scenario was a mistake right from the get-go.”

Jinyoung grips JB’s other hand between both of his where it's come to rest just below his sternum, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“All of us agreed to take part in it,” the younger man reminds him softly, feeling an echo of his earlier guilt twisting sharply in his chest. “This isn’t just on you, hyung. Let’s face it, we all screwed up today.”

Heaving another tired sigh, Jaebum stares up at the ceiling despondently. Jinyoung’s known him long enough that their bond runs a little deeper than the rest of the Pack, and even though he’s certain JB is trying his best not to let his scent betray how he’s really feeling, the guilt’s still radiating off him in _waves._

“You can’t keep beating yourself up about it,” he reasons quietly. “Yugyeomie-”

“I made him cry,” the Alpha murmurs bitterly. “He'd done nothing wrong, and I bullied him to  _tears._  Aish, I’ve seen the kid upset before, but never because of _me._ By all rights, he should hate me right now.”

Jinyoung pushes himself up enough to scoot backwards along the couch and perch comfortably in Jaebum’s vacated lap, the movement finally drawing the Alpha’s attention away from the ceiling for a brief moment.

“Gyeomie’s already forgiven you,” Jinyoung reminds him. “You know that. He’s forgiven all of us, because he’s an angel of a maknae whose heart is far too big for his own good.”

Tilting in to lean his forehead against Jinyoung’s shoulder for a moment, JB sighs again.

“We don’t deserve him.”

“Not even a little bit,” the younger man agrees, using the tips of his fingers to fluff up the hair at the back of Jaebum’s neck. “And even if he’s forgiven us, I imagine we’re probably gonna spend the next six months trying to make it up to him anyway.”

Jaebum breathes a tired little laugh. “Sounds about right.”

A quiet shuffling sound from the outside living room draws his attention up and away from his Packmate, and Jinyoung glances up quickly in time to see a tall shadow move past the open doorway, their identity hidden by the inky blackness of the hallway beyond. Honestly, Jinyoung hadn’t anticipated that anyone else would still be awake at this hour…unless he and JB aren’t the only ones struggling to find rest with a guilty conscience? Mark and Jackson had both looked pretty bummed-out when they had finally made it home only for Yugyeom politely but persistently declined their offer to share a room for the night.

Making up his mind to investigate, Jinyoung slips from Jaebum’s lap, the older Alpha’s fingers lingering on his wrist for a brief moment as he peers up at him in weary puzzlement.

“I’ll be back in minute,” he promises, flashing the man a quick half-smile before heading for the door.

The hallway lamp is off, but the light from the living room is sufficient enough to it keep him from tripping over or stubbing his toes in the dark. The kitchen, too, is bathed in shadow, a tall figure standing off towards the far side of the room near the sink, hands braced against the countertop and head bowed.

“Gyeomie?” he calls, easily recognising that broad-shouldered outline.

When no reply is forthcoming, Jinyoung reaches out to flick the dimmer-switch, turning on the overhead spotlights at their lowest setting. Yugyeom flinches all the same, shoulders tensing a little further as he hunches forward, making no move to turn around.

“Are you alright?” Jinyoung crosses the kitchen to stand behind him, settling a hand lightly against the small of Yugyeom’s back. The teenage Neutral’s scent seems distinctly _off,_ although he can’t quite put his finger on why.

Yugyeom sucks in a shaky breath, holding onto the countertop with a white-knuckled grip.

“Hyung, I…” the teenager’s breathing hitches, and Jinyoung realises with a sudden pulse of alarm that the pup is _crying._ “I don’t feel so good.”

“Hey, hey,” Jinyoung murmurs concernedly, moving closer to try and get a look at the maknae’s face, reaching out to turn Yugyeom towards him. “Shhh, come here. You’re okay.”

It isn’t until he’s pulled the maknae into a tight hug that he realises the pink flush decorating the youth’s cheeks isn’t just attributed to his tears – the teenager’s burning like a hotpack against him even through his clothes.

And his scent…aish, why does he smell like that? Yugyeom’s still a Neutral, so normally his scent is almost non-existent (clean and fresh and _muted_ compared to the rest of the maknae-line) but right now it’s been amplified by a factor of fifty and there’s a whole new layer of _sweetness_ to it, almost like…

Jinyoung clutches Yugyeom tighter against him, eyes widening as the realisation hits him with the full force of an emotional freight train.

Oh. _Oh._

_Holy fuck._

* * *

 

**_Come find me on[Tumblr!](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com/) <3 _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating! I was back home with my family last week for a brief holiday, so my writing got benched for a few days longer than planned. 
> 
> A shorted update than I'd intended, but the next chapter is hella content-heavy, so I figured it'd be nicer on my muse to split up the BIG REVEAL and the HELLA DRAMATIC AFTERMATH into two separate chapters. :P
> 
> Thank you for all the support you've given this fic so far! I really appreciate it. :) 
> 
> Also, a huge thank you to all the wonderful people who sent me lovely anon messages! I haven't been able to reply to all of them (because this past week there were a lot, bless you all, I really do appreciate your support!), but I promise I do read and cherish every single message. <3 
> 
> xxx


	4. A Bitter Pill To Swallow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaebum and the others learn the truth about what's really going on with their maknae.

.

 

Given that Jinyoung had set off in the direction of the apartment’s small kitchen, Jaebum had been expecting the younger Alpha to return after a few minutes with a cup of tea or a snack or something. _Not_ to stumble into the living room half-dragging, half-carrying a visibly distressed Yugyeom.

“Hyung!” Jinyoung calls, in an _I’m-trying-really-hard-not-to-freak-out_ sort of tone that immediately ignites a flutter of panic in the Pack-Alpha’s chest.

“What happened?” Jaebum practically vaults over the arm of the couch in his haste to intercept the pair, instinctively reaching out to cup one of the maknae’s flushed cheeks (too hot, _too hot)_ , his gaze frantically scanning the cub for any visible injuries. “Yugyeom-ah, what’s wrong? Are you-”

A sudden waft of something wonderfully _sweet_ has his nostrils flaring, cutting him off mid-sentence as his mind immediately blanks, Alpha instincts rushing to the fore to helpfully supply him with the answer that the sensible part of his brain is glitching over.

_Omega. Puppy. Frightened._

“Oh my god,” he breathes after a beat, pulling Yugyeom against him in a tight embrace, his stunned gaze shifting to lock with Jinyoung’s, who’s looking equally as startled and overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. “Oh my _god.”_

Yugyeom whimpers against his shoulder, a tearful and alarmed sort of sound that JB’s never heard from him before (and hopes to never hear again, _god,_ it cuts through his heart like a knife), and the Pack-Alpha realises with a jolt of self-reproach that he’s is probably broadcasting his own emotions a little too loudly for the newly-presented Omega to handle. Yugyeom’s senses will be working in overdrive, no longer muted by his Neutral biology, making him far more sensitive to the body chemistry of those around him. Jaebum has probably been pumping out stressed-Alpha pheromones by the bucketload without even noticing.

_Stupid._

In his defence, it’s his first time dealing with an unexpected Omega presentation. And _boy_ does he feel out of his depth.

Clamping down on those feelings of uncertainty and forcing himself to push them aside for the time being, Jaebum tries to summon a sense of inner calm for the pup’s sake, arms tightening around the teenager as he shuffles them backwards a few paces until he can sit on the couch, drawing Yugyeom down with him.

“You’re okay,” he murmurs, settling the gangly teenager sideways in his lap, fingers sliding into the thick sandy-blond hair to guide Yugyeom’s head down against his shoulder. “Shhh, I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be alright. Settle down for me, kiddo.”

Yugyeom muffles a miserable sob against his shoulder, but the tension in his body immediately begins to dissipate as he curls into JB’s hold, arms coming up to wrap around the Alpha’s shoulders.

“That’s it, there you go,” Jaebum encourages, petting the Omega’s hair gently. “You’re okay, cub.”

“Hyung,” Jinyoung whispers, still looking faintly stricken. “He…is he really…?”

Resting his cheek against the maknae’s hair, his hand coming to settle over the pup’s nape in order to maintain a degree of skin-to-skin contact, Jaebum gives a tiny nod in confirmation. Even ignoring the teen’s uncharacteristic clinginess, his scent is undeniably _Omega;_ there’s just no mistaking it.

“I need you to go get Mark,” he says, in as calm a voice as he can manage given the circumstances. “Try not to wake the others if you can help it; the last thing I want to do is overwhelm him. And see if you can find Youngjae’s meds – they should be in the bathroom cabinet, top shelf next to the first-aid kit. Failing that, there’s an emergency stash of suppressants at the back of my sock drawer.”

Yugyeom stills against him as Jinyoung hurries from the room, and Jaebum glances down as the teenager slowly leans back a few inches until he can peek up at the Alpha, eyes glassy and red-rimmed, tears leaving shining trails down his cheeks as the youth blinks at him in confusion.

“S-suppressants?”

Heart clenching painfully at the pup’s timid query, Jaebum cups the Omega’s burning cheek in one hand, thumb carefully wiping away a stray tear. Aigoo, he’s so _young._ Yugyeom’s always been taller than most of them (and built like an athlete to boot), but right now, cuddled up in JB’s lap with tears shining in his eyes, the kid’s never looked smaller or more vulnerable. Jaebum’s protective instincts had already been on full alert in the presence of _cub_ and _Omega_ and _upset maknae,_ but those feelings well up again with such fierce intensity that for a moment they threaten to steal his breath away.

“Gyeomie,” he murmurs after a short pause, gently brushing the cub’s damp hair back from his forehead. “The way you’re feeling right now? It’s because you’re presenting, kiddo.”

“What?” the youth croaks, suddenly wide-eyed. “No I’m not.”

“Your scent’s sweeter, cub-”

“No it’s not.”

“-which means you’re already going through The Change.”

“I’m _not-”_

“No, listen to me,” Jaebum interrupts him softly, pinching the maknae’s chin in a careful grip to hold the pup’s gaze for a moment. “I know you’re scared, baby, but we’re going to get through this.”

The Omega sucks in a shaky breath at the term of endearment, even as his eyes brim with a fresh sheen of tears. Sighing softly, heart aching for the kid, Jaebum leans in to press a lingering kiss to the centre of Yugyeom’s brow, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he threads his fingers into the maknae’s thick hair to gently ease the pup’s head back down again, this time guiding him to tuck his face against the side of the Alpha’s neck, hoping the maknae might find comfort in his scent.

“I know you’re scared,” he repeats. “I know this is all happening a lot faster than you maybe thought it would,” (certainly a whole lot faster than _JB_ ever thought it would), “but I _promise_ you, everything’s going to be alright. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Yugyeom’s fingers tighten in his shirt, the maknae snuffling wetly against Jaebum’s throat as he shifts in the Alpha’s lap with a pained whine, clearly in some degree of discomfort. JB winces in sympathy, rubbing a hand against the pup’s lower back to ease the ache he’s certain is building up there.

Most Omegas tend to experience cramping and heightened sensitivity during the initial stage of their cycle, but usually the onset of these symptoms begins up to twenty-four hours _before_ the body goes into preheat; which, while an unpleasant experience for poor Youngjae (whose severe cyclical cramps often require a cocktail of pain meds and muscle relaxants in order to ease them to something semi-bearable) do serve as a handy early-warning system so that the vocalist doesn’t suddenly start spiking fevers and losing coherency mid-performance.

With Yugyeom, however…aish. His situation really isn’t the norm. Jaebum doesn’t know _why,_ but the pup seems to have skipped right past the initial period of cramping and lethargy, and straight into _pre-heat._ And judging by the severity of his fever, this secondary stage is progressing at an unusually rapid right as well. It isn’t normal _at all,_ especially not for an Omega whose body has literally only _just_ presented. The age of dynamic maturity varies from person to person, but there’s almost always a significant gap (weeks, sometimes even months) between the initial presentation and the onset of an Omega’s first heat cycle.

At least, that’s how it had been for all of Jaebum’s Omega friends at school. Aish, he really should’ve paid more attention during dynamic physiology class.

“Gyeomie?”

It’s Mark, materialising beside the couch as if by magic, leaning down to drop a kiss against the top of Yugyeom’s head as he lifts a hand, fingers gently carding through the maknae’s hair. The man’s faint vanilla-musk scent washes over the pair, and Jaebum feels his own frazzled instincts immediately begin calm under the influence of the Beta’s pheromones.

“Well, you’re definitely an Omega,” the elder idol murmurs softly. “Congratulations, puppy. When you’re feeling better, we’ll go out for ice cream, okay? Hyung’s treat.”

Yugyeom turns his head a little to peer up at the older boy, blinking sluggishly, puffy eyes still wet with tears. Mark’s smile is soft and full of sympathy as he moves to sit beside Jaebum on the couch, reaching out to cup the maknae’s cheek. His brow creases fractionally, and he lifts his other hand, laying it gently across the younger man’s forehead to gage his temperature.

“Shit, he’s already spiking,” the Beta mutters. “Here, let me take him.”

Jaebum’s arms tighten around his youngest pup instinctively, logic overruled for a moment by the intrinsic need to cuddle and nurture and comfort and _protect_ the Omega, even from his own Pack.

“I’ve got him,” the Alpha reassures. “He’s fine.”

Mark holds his arms out a little more deliberately. “I wasn’t asking.”

The man’s uncharacteristic intensity takes him by surprise. Mark’s older than him only by a few months, and with Jaebum having been elected as leader by JYP and taking on the role of Pack-Alpha when the group agreed to bond, they tend to treat each other as equals. On occasion, the Beta will step in to be the voice of reason when JB’s being hard-headed about something, but it’s rare that Mark will actually speak to him with authority, in that _do-as-you’re-told_ sort of tone that genuinely makes the Alpha-Dom stop short.

“Aish, his symptoms are progressing too quickly,” Mark continues, his voice hushed and serious. “Look, I know you wanna help, but your pheromones are gonna push him straight into heat if you’re not careful. _Please_ just let me take him.”

Reluctantly, the younger idol relinquishes his hold on the Omega, allowing Mark to pull Yugyeom from his lap and over to the opposite side of the couch, putting a few feet of space between them. Jaebum has to curl his hands into fists against his thighs to keep from reaching for the pup when Yugyeom whimpers at the loss of contact.

“Shhh, hey,” Mark soothes, gathering the maknae close and tucking the Omega’s head down against his own neck. “I know, I know. I’m here, puppy.”

The Beta pushes a hand up underneath the teen’s shirt to settle against the small of his back, wincing sympathetically.

“You’re cramping, aren’t you?” he comments quietly. “I’m sorry, buddy, I know it hurts. Hyung’s gonna get you something to help with the pain, okay?”

“I found them!” Jinyoung announces, hurrying back into the room with a sealed prescription packet and a glass of water. He almost trips over his own feet as he nears the couch, eyes widening a little as his nostrils flare. “Fuck, is he spiking?”

“Is who spiking?” a voice asks sleepily from the doorway.

Jaebum lifts his eyes in time to see Jackson squinting at them all tiredly, clearly having just woken up. The younger Alpha’s fatigue vanishes the moment his gaze settles on Yugyeom, and JB sees him sniff the air before stumbling back a pace in surprise, reaching out to catch himself against the doorframe.

“Oh my _god._ ”

Yugyeom whines again, shuddering in Mark’s hold, and the Beta’s arms tighten around him as he glances towards Jaebum, giving the Pack-Alpha a _look._

“You need to get them out of here,” he murmurs seriously. “Now.”

Tearing his own gaze away from Yugyeom’s shivering, whimpering form through sheer willpower (because his Alpha instincts are practically _screaming_ at him to go to his Omega, to hold him, to do _something),_ Jaebum forces himself to his feet, grabbing the meds and water from the younger Alpha and setting them on the coffee table closest to Mark’s side of the couch. Then he takes Jinyoung by the elbow, herding him towards the door.

“Go wake up BamBam for me,” Mark calls after him. “I’m gonna need a second pair of hands.”

Jaebum nods, gritting his teeth to keep from turning around and rushing back inside the room at the sound of Yugyeom’s soft, tearful whining.

“Wait,” the Omega whimpers. “Wait, no, hyung…”

“Shhh, it’s alright,” he hears Mark soothe. “They’ll be back soon. I need you to take some medicine for me first, okay?”

Firmly closing the door behind them, Jaebum exhales a shaky sigh, holding up a silencing hand when Jackson opens his mouth to protest being shut out, the younger Alpha’s brow creased in confusion and concern.

“He’s already pretty far along in ­pre-heat _,_ ” he explains quietly. “Mark’s right, we can’t hang around and risk triggering his cycle. We need to wait until the suppressants have kicked in.”

Carefully pushing past Jackson, he heads towards the maknaes’ shared bedroom, trying to regain that sense of inner calm he’d manage to summon earlier. He doesn’t want to frighten BamBam by coming across all stressed out (even though his inner Alpha is near-frantic with worry), and he definitely doesn’t want to upset Youngjae. The elder two members of the maknae line have always been pretty sensitive to his mood changes; he needs to keep his cool for their sake.

Tip-toeing into the darkened room, he carefully steps over Youngjae’s backpack that’s been left near the door, its contents spilling out across the floor (aish, his messy pup) and moves over to flick on the small lamp nearby. BamBam stirs beneath the blankets, tanned skin lit warmly by the faint yellow light, but settles again after a moment without waking.

“Bammie,” Jaebum murmurs, sinking to his knees on the padded mat beside him, reaching out to squeeze the teenager’s shoulder. “BamBam, wake up.”

The Beta hums sleepily, a hand coming up to grasp loosely at JB’s wrist, expression twitching as he stirs in his sleep. The Alpha gives his dongsaeng the gentlest of shakes, wincing in apology when the teenager sucks in a sudden, startled breath and opens his eyes.

“Sorry,” he whispers, in answer to the Beta’s frown of sleepy confusion. “Mark wanted me to wake you. Yugyeom-ah…he’s not feeling too good.”

BamBam turns his head to the side, and Jaebum sees the moment the teenager registers the empty space on the mat beside him, eyes opening a little wider in concern as he pushes himself upright.

“What, is he sick?”

Jaebum hesitates, trying to think of a way to answer the Beta without alarming him. He needn’t have bothered, though, because a moment later the teenager’s shoving his face against the collar of JB’s hoodie, inhaling deeply.

The maknae pulls away just as quickly and blurts something in Thai that Jaebum can’t translate (although he’s pretty sure it’s something along the lines of _oh fuck he’s in heat,_ judging by the Beta’s tone and his look of mild panic).

“What… _how?”_ the teenager splutters, already wrestling himself out of the blankets and pushing himself to his feet. “He can’t be heat already, what the _fuck-”_

“Hey,” Jackson moves over from the doorway to catch hold of the Beta’s arm, his face full of concern. “Don’t be upset, it’s alright-”

“I’m fine,” BamBam interrupts (something he rarely does). The teenager takes a steadying breath before squaring his shoulders, resting a hand against Jackson’s chest. “I’m fine, hyung, I’m not upset.”

Jackson tilts his head to one side, brow still furrowed in concern, and asks the Beta something in English that Jaebum doesn’t understand. But the teenager shakes his head, carefully pulling his arm free of Jackson’s grip to quietly slip past him, hurrying from the bedroom.

“Hyung?” a voice slurs sleepily. “Wha’s going on?”

Jaebum flinches, realising belatedly that BamBam’s outburst must have woken Youngjae from his slumber. He schools his expression carefully before turning to face the Omega, trying to summon a reassuring smile.

“Nothing, baby,” he murmurs, the petname slipping out easily in the face of Youngjae’s sleepy pout, the younger singer blinking up at him groggily. “Go back to sleep.”

But Youngjae’s clearly not buying it. The maknae’s gaze flickers rapidly between Jaebum, Jackson and Jinyoung before settling on the Pack-Alpha again, his brow slowly beginning to furrow.

“No, something’s wrong,” the Omega concludes, pushing himself up onto his elbows, staring at the elder singer worriedly. “What is it? Why won’t you tell me?”

The Pack-Alpha hears Jinyoung sigh grimly somewhere behind him, before the younger man murmurs something about going to make everyone some tea, his quiet footsteps fading as he sets off down the hallway towards the kitchen.

The Omega’s gaze suddenly shifts sideways to take in the expanse of empty sleeping-mat beside him, and he lurches bolt-upright without warning.

“Wait, where are the guys?”

Jaebum settles his hands on Youngjae’s shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss to the centre of the pup’s forehead.

“It’s okay-”

“No it’s _not,”_ the Omega insists, pulling back to stare up at him with big, worried eyes. “Stop saying that, I _know_ something’s not right. You’re upset and you’re trying really hard to hide it, but I’m not _stupid,_ hyung.”

“Hey,” Jackson warns in JB’s place, the Pack-Alpha genuinely too surprised by his sunshine-cub’s sudden outburst to respond appropriately. “Mind your tone.”

Youngjae’s frustration melts into fretful contriteness in the blink of an eye, the Omega leaning in to bump his forehead against the underside of Jaebum’s jaw in apology.

“Sorry,” the younger man murmurs. “That sounded rude, I didn’t mean it like that. Only, you’re kinda freaking me out, hyung. I just really need to know if Bammie-”

“BamBam’s fine,” Jaebum interjects calmly, shifting to sit on the mat so that he can pull the fidgeting Omega into a proper cuddle, Youngjae shifting to settle in his lap without hesitation. “He’s gone to help Mark take care of Yugyeom-ah.”

“Take care of him?” the Omega echoes in concern.

The Alpha nods, stroking his dongsaeng’s cheek comfortingly. “Gyeomie’s going through The Change, cub.”

Youngjae’s brows shoot up in surprise at the answer, but a moment later he gives JB a slightly puzzled look.

“Then why aren’t you with him?” the Omega asks, audibly confused. “If he’s starting to present, he’s gonna need your support, right?”

Jackson plops down beside them on the sleeping-mat, listing sideways to lean his head against the Pack-Alpha’s shoulder and curl a muscular arm around Jaebum’s waist, even as he reaches out to take Youngjae’s hand in his own.

“Because he isn’t just presenting, bǎobèi,” the rapper murmurs. “He’s in pre-heat.”

The Omega startles, glancing up at Jaebum for confirmation, and whatever he sees in the Pack-Alpha’s expression is apparently enough of an answer in itself.

“Already?” Youngjae frets quietly. “But, he can’t just…it’s not _normal_ for an Omega to…not in the same _night.”_

Kissing the pup’s temple, Jaebum rubs his back soothingly. He understands the younger singer’s confusion and concern; he himself has been fruitlessly searching for a logical explanation from the moment he first identified Yugyeom’s newly-presented scent, but his mind keeps drawing a blank.

“After I presented, it was almost two _months_ before I had my first cycle,” Youngjae insists softly. “Are you sure he’s not just sick or something?”

Oh, how Jaebum wishes that were the case. But his instincts don’t lie; he knows the difference between a sick pup and a _pre-heat_ pup, and Yugyeom definitely fit into the latter category. Normal illnesses couldn’t alter a person’s natural scent, and even if a dynamic presentation happened to coincide with a bad case of the flu, there’s no way Jaebum’s Alpha hormones would react in the way they had done this evening in response to common sickness.

For example, he’s never felt the need to _nest_ quite so keenly as he does right now.

 _In a little while,_ he promises himself in an effort to keep those instincts from overwhelming him. _Give the suppressants a chance to kick in first. Yugyeom’s not going anywhere._

Until he can instigate a mass Pack-pile in the living room with all of his cubs, he’ll just have to make do with aggressively snuggling his eldest Omega. Thankfully, judging by the way Youngjae’s happily nuzzling against his throat already, the pup isn’t going to mind one bit.

“What if it’s our fault?” Jackson suddenly murmurs, after a few moments of silence.

Jaebum’s gaze flickers sideways to take in the younger Alpha’s pinched expression, and feels a slither of uneasiness coil tight in his gut.

“What do you mean?”

“Yugyeom’s cycle,” Jackson elaborates as he lifts his head from JB’s shoulder, his gaze shifting to meet the Pack-Alpha’s. “It came out of nowhere, right? He’d been _fine_ all day, but then in the evening we…”

The rapper cuts himself off mid-sentence with a muttered curse, drawing his knees up to his chest and fisting his hair in both hands, visibly agitated. Concerned, Jaebum reaches out to settle a hand over the back of the younger Alpha’s neck, thumb stroking back and forth against the skin there. He can feel the tension beneath his gentle grip, the muscles bunched up so tight they almost tremble with it.

“Back when I was still at the fencing academy in Hong Kong, one of my teammates broke his collarbone playing basketball,” Jackson recalls quietly, staring down at the floor. “He was gonna have to sit out during practice for six weeks until it healed, and with Nationals coming up the timing couldn’t have been worse. Our coach broke it to him as gently as he could, but obviously the poor kid was devastated. Me and a couple of the older trainees decided to take him out for a meal to try and make him feel better, but after a few hours we ended up driving him to the emergency clinic instead; he’d started spiking out of nowhere, the guy could barely walk. Later on, once the meds had kicked in, his doctor told us it was a trauma-induced presentation, probably brought on by the shock of being cut from the team so suddenly. It’s supposed to be super-rare, but…”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Youngjae sucks in a slow, shaky breath.

“So what we did to Yugyeom last night,” the Omega murmurs tremulously, voicing what all three of them are undoubtedly thinking. “The prank we pulled, it…it hurt him enough to prematurely trigger his presentation.”

Jackson seems to sense the younger man’s distress, reaching out to take Youngjae’s hand again quickly.

“We can’t know that for sure, bǎobèi-”

“No.” Youngjae shakes his head rapidly, his voice growing tight. “ _No._ Yugyeom, he…he was _so_ upset, hyung. I’ve never seen him cry like that before. Think about it, the kid hardly ever causes trouble, so he basically _never_ gets scolded. And to have all of us turn on him like that, and watching us start fighting with each other over something he’d done-”

The Omega’s voice cracks, chin trembling ever so slightly, eyes shining wetly in the lamplight as he quietly reaches the conclusion they’ve all collectively come to:

“ _We_ did this.”

Jaebum palms the side of Youngjae’s head to tuck it comfortingly beneath his chin, but his words of reassurance are unable reach his lips, lodged behind the aching lump that’s rapidly swelling in his throat. He swallows hard, blinking furiously against the burning sensation in his own eyes as Jackson drops his head back down against Jaebum’s shoulder. He can easily sense the sadness and guilt radiating off his two packmates, and it only adds to the pulsing ache in his own chest.

Aish, he’s such an _idiot._

Why hadn’t he just said ‘no’ when the PDs had first suggested pulling a prank on Yugyeom? Now his youngest cub is in the throes of an unpredictable prematurely-triggered heat cycle, and JB’s powerless to help him. He’s the one who created this mess in the first place, but all he’s able to do is sit and wait for his Betas (and the emergency suppressants) to ease the Omega far enough out of his pre-heat that JB won’t inadvertently make matters even _worse_ with his stupid, useless Alpha pheromones.

“Oh god,” Jinyoung mutters from the bedroom doorway, a tray of mugs balanced in one hand as he closes the door behind him. “What happened now? Why do you all smell so _sad?”_

Youngjae hiccups wetly against Jaebum’s neck, and the Pack-Alpha tightens his hold on the pup, his throat still too swollen to speak.

“We’re all _bastards,”_ Jackson answers miserably.

And honestly? Jaebum can’t find it in his heart to disagree.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

**_Come find me on[Tumblr](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com)_ ** **_!_ **

**_Also, here's a cute gif of JB cuddling his baby to make you feel a little better after the punches I landed in this chapter. <3_ **

 

**__ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for any undue suffering caused by the angst towards the end of this chapter. *passes out blankets and chocolate* I promise I'm usually a fluff-writer. And we will return to our regularly schedule Yugyeom-cuddling in the next instalment, I swear. :)
> 
> I have a weakness for Jackson being soft for his packmates, can you tell? He is the squishiest Alpha in GOT7. Also resident mother Jinyoung will always KEEP CALM AND DRINK TEA in stressful situations, while JB's mantra is ACT LIKE I'M NOT STRESSED AND AGGRESSIVELY CUDDLE. They balance each other out.
> 
> That being said, Mark would legit fight all three of them to protect Yugyeom from unwanted Alpha pheromones. Nesting Betas are not to be trifled with. The next chapter will primarily be BamBam/Yugyeom/Mark snuggles, because maknae BFFs need their cuddle-time with Beta-mama. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3 xxx


	5. Cuddle Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it says on the tin.

.

 

BamBam carefully smooths down the adhesive patch onto Yugyeom’s hip, cupping his palm against the opaque rectangle to help warm it, hoping it’ll activate the hormone a little faster.

“Are you sure one patch is gonna be enough?” he queries softly, peering up at Mark from his kneeling position on the floor. “Youngjae-hyung’s smaller than him, and he always uses at least two…”

The older Beta nods, cheek rubbing against Yugeom’s hair as the maknae dozes feverishly in his arms.

“It’s Gyeomie’s first cycle,” Mark points out. “He’s not gonna need a lot, his body isn’t used to suppressants yet. The guy from the emergency clinic said to give him the minimum dose to start off with, we can always top him up after an hour or so if it doesn’t make a difference; if we give him too much all at once, it could cause a drop.”

BamBam nods, thumb stroking gently against Yugyeom’s too-hot skin. Although the suppressant pill seems to have taken the edge off the Omega’s discomfort and helped him to settle enough to slip into a fitful doze, his body still seems to be burning up. Youngjae’s often like this too, at least during the first day of his cycle; achy and feverish and a whole lot clingier than usual, spending most of his time curled up in someone’s lap or aggressively back-hugging BamBam and Yugyeom like his life depends on it.

“He spiked so fast,” BamBam murmurs. “I didn’t think new Omegas could transition like that, not all in one night.”

“It isn’t how thing usually happen,” Mark acknowledges with a faint, tired-looking smile. “But then again, our maknae’s always been pretty special.”

The younger Beta hums, rubbing Yugyeom’s lower back to soothe him as the teenager shifts uneasily in his sleep. “Do you think we need to take him to see someone at the clinic?”

Mark shakes his head. “The doctor I spoke to agreed that it was probably for the best if we kept Yugyeom at home with the Pack, where he’d settle easier. Since we already had a stock of suppressants, there wasn’t any real urgency to drag him out to a clinic tonight. His scent’s stabilising, and the patches should help regulate things for the next few days until he can decide on which suppressants to use in the long-run, and hopefully his fever won’t more than a day or so. We’ll need to get him checked out properly once he’s feeling a little better, but his symptoms aren’t anything we can’t handle at home.”

Gently tugging the hem of Yugyeom’s shorts back up to cover the patch, BamBam moves to sit next to Mark on the couch, pressing in as close to the pair as he can without squashing them.

Not for the first time that evening, he’s immensely grateful for his position as the maknae-Beta of the group and not the one in charge of everything like Mark, who has to remain totally calm and cool-headed in disconcerting situations like these. Fuck, how is the older Beta so relaxed? Honestly, BamBam’s barely managing to keep his wits together, and all he’s really doing is following Mark’s instructions; if he was in the older Beta’s place, burdened with the responsibility of needing to come up with a plan of action at stupid-o’clock in the morning, he would definitely have cracked by now.

And he _never_ would’ve had the forethought to call the emergency helpline on the back of the suppressant packet and ask for professional advice – he’d be too busy internally freaking out to even think about details like that.

Hell, BamBam _still_ feels a little inclined to panic, even though the worst of Yugyeom’s pre-heat symptoms have already begun to abate. He’s trying his best not to let it show in his scent, forcefully thinking happy-healthy-positive thoughts and pushing aside his lingering uncertainty in an effort to create as calming and reassuring a presence as possible for Yugyeom’s sake, although he doubts he’s pulling it off as effortlessly as Mark seems to be.

 _Aish._ Sometimes BamBam wonders if he’s really cut out to be a Beta at all.

If it weren’t for his heightened sense of smell and the overwhelming urge to _comfort_ anyone and everyone around him at any given time, he might almost think he was still an unpresented Neutral. Mark says the whole Pack-nurturing-instincts thing tends to come along a little later in his Beta-progression, but the other rapper’s only four years older than him and he already seems to know exactly what to do and what to say _all the time_ , while BamBam’s left fumbling along blindly with no real clue how to fix things when they go wrong.

“Cub?” Mark’s quiet voice pulls him from his moment of self-reproach, gentle fingers sinking into BamBam’s hair where the teenager’s laid his head to rest against the back of Yugyeom’s shoulder. “Everything okay?”

BamBam opens his mouth, the automatic _“I’m fine, hyung”_ poised right on the tip of his tongue, compelled by the need to reassure the older Beta and lessen the man’s steadily increasing burden of responsibility in any way that he can, despite the absolutely-not-fine feelings that he’s actually dealing with beneath the surface.

But Mark’s watching him closely, his face soft and full of gentle concern, and BamBam’s resolve crumples like a wet piece of paper. Heaving a weary sigh, he cuddles a bit closer to Yugyeom’s back, both to reassure the maknae through his touch (since his pheromone control isn’t anywhere near as good as Mark’s, it’s the best he can offer) and in an effort to comfort his own unsettled feelings.

“I should’ve known something was wrong,” he murmurs. “Gyeomie was _right there next to me,_ why didn’t I notice sooner? Even a half-decent Beta would’ve woken up when he started to spike.”

“Don’t say that,” Mark warns, but his tone is gentle. “You can’t hold yourself to those kind of standards, Bammie, you’re barely seventeen. You’re only a _pup._ Most Betas have barely even started presenting at your age.”

“But…but I should’ve-”

“Your instincts will come,” the man reassures. “My Beta-progression took almost three years, you can’t expect it to happen overnight when you’re not even done growing yet. And even if you presented earlier than most, your body’s still got a fair bit of catching up to do. Give it time, baby.”

The older Beta combs his hand through BamBam’s hair, his expression warm and full of affection. “None of us expect you to have all the answers just yet. Stop being so hard on yourself, okay?”

Feeling himself calming significantly at the tender reassurance, the teenager nods, arms circling a little further around Yugyeom’s waist. The Omega sighs in his sleep, leaning back into the contact noticeably, one hand releasing the bunched-up fabric of Mark’s hoodie to drop down and latch onto BamBam’s wrist instead. Mark observes the action with a fond little half-smile, then lifts his gaze to meet the younger Beta’s again.

“Do you want to hold him for a little while?”

The teenager hesitates and glances away briefly, torn between that growing urge to _cuddle_ and _comfort,_ and the knowledge that Yugyeom’s already so settled and cosy in Mark’s arms that it’d be a shame to disturb his slumber. Besides, his own pheromones won’t be half as effective as the older Beta’s; what if Gyeomie wakes up and gets all upset again?

No, it’s probably for the best if the Omega stays where he is, BamBam would only fuck things up…

“Bammie,” Mark presses, fingers sliding down from the maknae’s hair to gently cup his jaw, tilting his chin back up. “You’re overthinking things again, pup. Would you like to hold him, yes or no?”

“Yes,” BamBam whispers, compelled once again to tell the truth in the face of Mark’s unwavering calm.

Less than a minute later, he’s propped up against the arm of the couch for support, most of Yugyeom’s weight on the cushions (because the maknae’s so much taller and broader than BamBam that he’d get crushed otherwise) but with the Omega leaning comfortably against his chest in a semi-recline. The younger teenager stirs a little at being moved around, puffy eyelid opening to blink up at BamBam blearily for a few seconds in sleepy confusion, eyes glassy with fever.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” the Beta soothes on instinct, gently tucking Yugyeom’s face down against his neck near his scent-gland. “I’ve got you, go back to sleep.”

Yugyeom gives another tired sigh, fingers curling loosely in the fabric of BamBam’s pyjama shirt, and the Thai rapper feels such a fierce surge of protectiveness at the Omega’s easy submission that he’s genuinely surprised by his own willingness to fight anyone who might try to take his best friend away from him at this point in time.

A quiet chuckle distracts him from his thoughts, and he sees Mark smile fondly as the older Beta gets up from the couch, leaning over the cuddling maknaes to press a kiss first to BamBam’s forehead, then to Yugyeom’s crown.

“I’m gonna go check on the others,” the man murmurs, gently taking the younger Beta’s wrist and guiding his hand up to settle over the back of Yugyeom’s neck. “Hold him here, like this. That’s it. See? You’re a natural.”

BamBam hides a smile by turning his head to press a kiss against the Omega’s hair, but Mark grins knowingly as he straightens up.

“Shout me if you need anything, won’t you?”

The teenager nods, his previous uneasiness gone now that he’s got his arms full of contented-Omega. He doesn’t remember it feeling so _satisfying_ before with Youngjae; then again, more often than not BamBam ends up being the little-spoon simply because of his size, the older boy preferring to use him as a human teddy bear when he’s feeling clingy. And BamBam’s hugged all of his Packmates often enough, but this is probably the first time he’s had one of them cuddled up in his lap like this, all vulnerable and sleepy and _trusting._

Is this how Mark feels whenever one of them crawls into his arms for a hug after a long day? Is this what it’s like for Jaebum and the other Alphas whenever one of the younger members comes to them for comfort?

BamBam hadn’t realised that being the one _doing_ the comforting could feel so good. Being a Beta is fucking _awesome._

“Don’t worry, hyung,” he murmurs, and manages his first genuine smile since JB woke him up earlier that night. “We’ll be fine.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter again, but the Betas deserved a moment of their own with Yugyeom. Also I didn't feel like tackling the emotional turmoil that is Alphas+Youngjae after the bombshell at the end of the last chapter. I just wanted cuddles. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


	6. Too Hot (Hot Damn)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugyeom isn't feeling his best, but his Pack is there to support him.

 

.

Waking up is a slow and unpleasant process.

Yugyeom can feel his mind shifting from the blissful ignorance of a pain-free slumber, clawing its way back towards consciousness where everything feels _hot_ and _heavy_ and _weird._ Fuck, is he sick? His throat isn’t sore and his nose isn’t stuffy, but the rest of his body aches the way it tends to whenever he’s hit with a seasonal cold.

And his _stomach,_ aigoo, why does it hurt so much? Did he eat something bad?

Moaning softly, Yugyeom tries to push the blankets off ( _too hot, too hot_ ), only to discover that the weight resting lightly across his torso is actually someone’s arm. Peeling his heavy eyelids open, Yugyeom blinks sluggishly towards the odd-looking shadowy ceiling, feeling a little disorientated to be waking up somewhere other than his bedroom.

“Gyeomie?”

A blurry face swims into view above him, the features difficult to make out in the dim lighting, but the soft hum of his voice is immediately familiar and it helps to calm Yugyeom’s unsettled nerves within seconds.

“Hey, kiddo,” Jaebum murmurs as he props himself up on his elbow beside the teen, his hand sliding up from the maknae’s sternum to cup his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

Yugyeom thinks on that for a moment, trying to bring his blurry vision into focus.

“Weird,” he admits, his voice coming out a little hoarse. He must have been asleep for quite some tme.

And why is he sleeping on the living room floor in the first place? Hadn’t he gone to bed last night in his own room? Admittedly, he’d been feeling pretty crap after everything that had happened back at the studio, what with that horrible prank and all, but-

_Oh. I presented._

The memories of the previous evening come flooding back to him in a heady rush; Jinyoung finding him in the kitchen, dizzy and aching and disorientated and feeling two seconds away from breaking apart; JB smelling so, _so_ good, like love and safety and _home;_ the shock of realising his body had fully presented as an Omega, without the usual symptoms that he’d been taught in biology class to expect in the days preceding that initial dynamic shift; Mark gently explaining that his presentation had been prematurely-triggered, likely in response to how frightened and upset he’d been during the Hidden Camera prank; BamBam holding him close and whispering something in Thai, the teenager feeling inexplicably _bigger_ than Yugyeom despite being several inches shorter and far slimmer…

He must have dozed after that. Yugyeom vaguely remembers hearing the others talking nearby, their conversation hushed, and someone had lifted him up briefly before laying him down on a padded horizontal surface. Then there had been a warm press of bodies around him, comforting scents culminating in a blanket of _nice-safe-hyungs-home_ that had immediately lulled him back to sleep.

“It’s so hot in here,” he groans, shifting uncomfortably against the padded mat that’s been spread out beneath him, feeling his damp t-shirt sticking to his skin in places.

Jaebum’s hand moves to gently brush back the teen’s fringe, briefly settling over Yugyeom’s brow to gage his temperature.

“Your fever’s still pretty high,” the Alpha murmurs in sympathy. “But your scent’s stabilised, so that’s a good sign. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

The man’s skin feels wonderfully cool against his brow, Jaebum’s touch easing the maknae’s discomfort tenfold, which perhaps explains the ultra-embarrassing whimpering sound that Yugyeom makes (quite unintentionally) when JB then removes it.

“Hey, hey, shh,” the Alpha soothes, lowering his voice further when there’s a shuffling noise from nearby. The hand immediately returns to Yugyeom’s face, gentle fingers caressing his cheek. “I’m here, cub. I’m not going anywhere.”

Yugyeom reaches up to curl his fingers around the man’s wrist, compelled by a hitherto unknown biological instinct to keep JB as close to him as possible. Aigoo, since when has he been so _needy?_ Is this how Youngjae feels every time his cycle hits? No wonder the Omega’s always super tactile with the rest of the Pack; right now, Yugyeom wants to cuddle someone so bad it’s like a physical _ache._ Hunger-pangs are a thing he’s pretty familiar with (having a super-fast metabolism and being at the height of puberty, he’s _always_ hungry), but apparently so are cuddle-pangs now.

And fuck, he’s _starving_ for a hug.

He tilts his head into JB’s tender touch, turning to press his nose against the Alpha’s inner wrist and inhaling deeply, drinking in the leader’s rich, reassuring scent. Yugyeom’s eyelids still feel heavy and itchy, and with the comfort of Jaebum’s presence he can already feel himself being pulled back under.  

“Did he wake up?” he hears Mark query softly from nearby, the shuffling sound drawing closer to them. “How is he?”

“Tired,” Jaebum whispers in reply, stroking Yugyeom’s hair with the hand that isn’t clutched tightly in the Omega’s grasp. “And still burning up.”

A wonderfully fresh vanilla-musk combines with JB’s headier scent, and Yugyeom opens his eyes again to find Mark leaning over him, his smile full of gentle warmth. The Beta’s hand settles lightly over Yugyeom’s brow just as JB’s had done, then slides down to cup his cheek.

“Hey, kid,” the rapper murmurs. “How about we get you changed into some clean pyjamas?”

Getting rid of his sweat-soaked t-shirt and shorts definitely sounds appealing, but on the other hand Yugyeom _aches,_ and there’s a bigger part of him that just can’t be bothered moving anywhere at the moment.

“You’re cramping again, aren’t you?” Mark says sympathetically, like the telepathic superhero he is. “I can get you another dose of pain meds, but you’ll need to eat something first, okay?”

Yugyeom’s lips turn down at that. “But m’not hungry,” he gripes. “It’s the middle of the night, hyung.”

On any other day, he’d probably be mortified to say something so whiny and pathetic in front of his hyungs, but honestly? Right now he feels like shit. His body aches, the muscles in his lower back keep twinging whenever he moves, he’s uncomfortably hot, and _nobody is cuddling him._ Surely a little sulking is permissible under the current circumstances.

“Actually, it’s almost five-thirty,” Mark corrects him, his expression growing fonder at the maknae’s rare display of sulky aegyo. “You’ve slept pretty solidly these past four hours or so, at least once the hormone patch finally kicked in. I guess your body was pretty exhausted after everything that’s happened.”

“Is he awake?”

Yugyeom turns his head in the direction of the voice, finding Jackson propped up on his elbow nearby, BamBam and Youngjae sleeping on either side of him. The Hong Kong native locks eyes with him and smiles, wide and genuine and _relieved,_ carefully extricating himself from the sleepy clutches of the maknae-line and climbing over BamBam’s dozing form.

“Hey, puppy,” Jackson greets, drawing close enough lay a comforting hand against Yugyeom’s sternum. Then his cheerful expression falls a little, and he glances up towards Mark worriedly. “Why hasn’t his fever come down yet?”

Mark’s aura of calm doesn’t waver. “Because it’s a triggered presentation,” he answers, shifting to slide an arm beneath the Omega’s shoulders. “And it’s the cub’s first cycle. Youngjae said it took forty-eight hours for his body temp to stabilise the first time he went into pre.”

“Two _days?_ ” Jackson echoes, a little louder than is perhaps sensible, given that the rest of the pack are still snoozing nearby.

Over the couch a few feet away, Jinyoung stirs in his sleep with a soft grunt, and after a beat he lifts his head from the cushions to squint towards them, pushing himself upright almost immediately when he sees the three men gathered around Yugyeom.

“What’s happening? Is he alright?”

“He’s fine,” Mark reassures without hesitation, as he carefully eases the Omega into a sitting position. “Just a little feverish. Go back to sleep, man.”

Yugyeom tries his hardest not to be a big baby about it, but moving really _sucks,_ and the renewed throbbing in his stomach and lower back as Mark helps him to his feet pushes a whining sort of whimpering noise from his lips before he can successfully swallow the sound.

“I know, I know you’re sore,” Mark sympathises, pausing for a moment to knead at the small of his back, easing the tightness there. “The cramps are always at their worst during the first twenty-four hours, but they’ll get better. I promise.”

Jaebum steps up beside him to curl a supportive arm around Yugyeom’s waist, allowing the Omega to lean his weight into him.

“How about a nice, cool bath?” he suggests. “It’ll help with the fever and the muscle aches. Hyung, the patches are waterproof, right?”

Mark nods, stepping back. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’m sure Jax and Jinyoungie can watch the cubs for a little while.”

Yugyeom lists tiredly against Jaebum, dropping his head down to rest against the Alpha’s shoulder as his eyes droop. He’s so _sleepy._ And JB smells so good, all he really wants to do is crawl into the man’s lap and cuddle.

“Hyuuung,” he whines. “I don’t want a bath. M’tired.”

He hears Jackson swear in English under his breath. “Fuck, he’s cute.”

Jabeum’s hand slides into Yugyeom’s hair, fingertips caressing his scalp soothingly. “It’ll make you feel better, kiddo. And I promise you can go right back to sleep afterwards.”

The Omega sighs in reluctant defeat, already swayed by JB’s gentle encouragement and comforting touch. Besides, his sweaty clothes really are making him feel pretty gross, and if cool water helps to lower his body temperature even by a couple of decimal points, it’d be a blessing.

And maybe after his bath there’ll be cuddles.

 _God,_ he hopes so.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

**_Come say hi to me on[tumblr](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com/)!  :)_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry for the brief lapse in updates, I've had a super busy week between work and family commitments. It was a shorter chapter than I had planned, but I was really keen to share some GOT7 squishiness with you, so I skipped the hyungs-having-The-Guilts scene and jumped ahead to the comfort and cuddles. 
> 
> The only major missing scene from this skip was basically just Mark telling JB and the other Alphas to pull themselves together and push those guilty feelings aside in order to look after their cub. And Youngjae, determined to help his fellow Omega and make up for his part in helping with the Hidden Camera prank, basically instigated a mass cuddle-pile in the living room, citing Yugyeom's need to be close to the rest of the Pack during his time of change. But the Pack-pile was also 100% for the benefit of the Alphas too, who were struggling with the prospect of staying away from their maknae-Omega.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to support me and my stories despite my slow updates. :) I love you all! <3 
> 
> xxx


	7. You've Got Me

.

 

“Practice shouldn’t take more than a few hours,” Mark says quietly, shrugging on his jacket by the front door of their apartment. “But if you need me to come home sooner than that, just call me. I’ll keep my phone on.”

Jaebum arches a doubtful eyebrow. “The managers aren’t gonna be happy about that.”

“Tough shit.” Mark shoves his feet into his sneakers with perhaps a little more stomping than is strictly necessary. “The managers shouldn’t be forcing me to leave a new Omega pup at home when he’s only just…” The Beta cuts himself off, sucks in a steadying breath, and lets it out again in a tired-sounding sigh. “Sorry, man. I shouldn’t be taking this out on you.”

“No, I get it,” JB reassures with a sympathetic wince. “He’s your Omega as much as he is mine, it sucks that they won’t let both of us stay.”

Mark drags a hand through his hair and heaves another sigh. “At least they let me tag along to his clinic appointment.” The dancer’s lips kick up a little at the corners. “Good thing too, since apparently you know _shit_ about suppressants.”

Jaebum returns the smile with an easy shrug. “Hey, I know what does and doesn’t work for Youngjae, that’s got me by these past nine months. Aside from that, yeah, I’m pretty clueless. Sorry.”

“It’s cool, that’s why you’ve got me.” Mark glances at his watch and swears under his breath, then drops down quickly into a crouch to tie his laces. “Don’t forget to change Yugyeom’s patch at three-thirty, he’ll need a new one every eight hours. And if he starts cramping again, his pain meds are in the bathroom cabinet next to Yougjae’s. And remember to-”

“Mark.” Jaebum reaches out to cup the side of Mark’s neck, much as he would do with one of the younger members of his Pack. “Hey. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

The other man stills at the touch, glancing up slowly from his laces, and JB wonders for a moment if he’s overstepped. Although Mark is technically his elder by four months, they’ve always seen each other as same-age friends. As a Beta, he’s considered Jaebum’s equal in the loose hierarchy that they’ve established within their rookie Pack, but while his laidback and cool-headed approach to life means that he generally agrees with JB about most things and follows his lead without protest, Mark can still silence the rest of the group with nothing more than a look or a raised eyebrow. Even Jaebum’s inner Alpha is cowed by Mark’s infrequent displays of absolute authority. He knows if the Beta really tried to _push_ him, he’d roll over in a heartbeat.

And it doesn’t help that Mark’s so drop-dead _gorgeous,_ either.

“Sorry,” the Beta murmurs after a pause, lowering his gaze back down to his untied laces and leaning ever so subtly into JB’s touch, allowing the authority to shift back to the Alpha in a rare show of vulnerability. “He’s safe here with you, I know that. But I still don’t like leaving him.”

Jaebum isn’t used to seeing this side of Mark – the Beta’s always so calm and collected around the rest of the Pack, and he’s been a pillar of support these past eighteen hours while the rest of the group have tried (and failed) to hide their collective fear and concern over Yugyeom’s sudden presentation and triggered pre-heat cycle. Now that the Omega’s finally settled and asleep in the living room, and with the rest of the Pack at the studio and out of earshot, Mark’s finally allowing his own worries to bleed through a little. And his reluctance to leave the den (so to speak) is understandable – Yugyeom’s Omega pheromones, although significantly dampened now thanks to his prescription suppressants, are still effectively triggering Jaebum’s most basic Pack-Alpha instincts to nurture and protect. He can only imagine how much more _intense_ those feelings must be for Mark, who’s Beta senses and nesting instincts are significantly stronger than an Alpha’s. Were Mark not so cool-headed, there’s a good chance he might have said something ill-advised to the manager who had bluntly informed them that ‘only’ JB had permission to skip practice that afternoon to stay with their maknae.

Finding himself compelled to comfort the Beta, or even having Mark show some degree of vulnerability like this, is uncharted territory for Jaebum. In all the time they’ve known each other (first as fellow trainees, then as friends, and now as packmates), Mark’s never really _needed_ comfort or reassurance. He knows it’s different for Betas – they find emotional stability in caring for others rather than being cared for – so it makes sense that in being forced to leave his new Omega cub at home, that sense of security has been lost.

“I can talk to the managers again,” JB offers quietly, thumb stroking against the Beta’s skin. “Maybe they’ll reconsider letting you stay…”

Mark sighs again, but when he pushes himself to his feet a moment later, the faint creases of worry around his eyes have disappeared and his smile is tired but warm.

“They were already unhappy about Gyeomie staying at home in the first place,” the Beta reminds him. “We probably shouldn’t push our luck. If the doctor hadn’t left specific instructions for bedrest in a quiet environment, I guarantee you they would’ve made him sit at the back of the studio and watch the rest of us practice.”

Jaebum finds himself wincing at the thought. Yugyeom is _exhausted_ both physically and emotionally, and with his newly-heightened Omega senses making him hyper-aware of the scents and pheromones of everyone around him, being stuck in a windowless dance studio for hours on end with its bright overhead spotlights and booming sound system…aish, he can’t imagine a _worse_ place for his maknae to be right now. Mark’s right, they can’t risk pestering the managers to the point where they’ll rescind their offer of allowing Yugyeom and JB to skip practice. The cub needs the peace and quiet of their apartment more than he needs an additional hyung to fuss over him.

“I’ll be fine,” the Beta reassures, still with that same tired smile, although his gaze flickers back towards the living room doorway where he and JB had left Yugyeom sleeping peacefully on the couch ten minutes ago. “It’ll pass.”

Jaebum studies the rapper’s expression a moment longer before reaching out to pull Mark into a hug, wrapping his arms around the slighter man’s slender frame and pressing his nose against the Beta’s neck, inhaling deeply. His scent’s still that faint blend of vanilla and lavender, but it’s ever so slightly _off_ in a way JB can’t entirely explain. But he knows his packmate’s scent (his _normal_ scent, at least) and this isn’t it. The Beta usually has such careful control over his emotions, rarely broadcasting anything through his scent other than comfort and reassurance, but this…maybe this is Mark’s _worried_ scent?

Jaebum doesn’t like it.

“It’s alright  _not_ to be fine about this, you know,” JB murmurs, feeling Mark’s arms come up to return the embrace as the Beta relaxes into him. “You don’t have to be okay all the time. That’s why you’ve got me.”

Mark huffs a quiet laugh into his shoulder at the use of his own words against him, arms squeezing the Alpha tighter for a second.

“I’m not going to like it,” he acknowledges softly. “Leaving him like this fucking _sucks._ But if it’s only for a few hours, I can cope. Just…keep me updated, okay? Promise me.”

JB brushes his lips against the man’s scent gland. “Yeah. I promise.”

The Beta takes another deep breath, and then his scent noticeably shifts, that _off_ -note vanishing as quickly as it had come, overlaid by waves of vanilla-lavender freshness that has its usual immediate calming effect on JB’s inner Alpha.

“I need to go,” Mark says, finally pulling back from the hug, lifting one hand to cup Jaebum’s cheek and reaching for the handle of the front door with the other. “I’ll try to be back before dinner. Take care of the cub.”

His lips press against JB’s in a kiss so chaste the Alpha wonders if it’s a figment of his imagination, but when the door closes behind his packmate a moment later, Jaebum’s lips are still tingling and there’s a dull heat rising in his cheeks.

Aigoo.

_Every damn time._

The intimacy between Mark and the pack’s Alpha-line is still new and fairly tentative; they’re being careful not to rush into things, keen to establish something _beyond_ the platonic bonds they’d formed during their long months of training together, but respectful of each other’s boundaries. They’re still only a rookie Pack after all, and with debut and promotions and group activities taking up 99% of their lives at the moment, none of them want to do anything that could jeopardise those underlying bonds and impact their chemistry onstage as a group. Things haven’t really gone much beyond a few tender kisses exchanged out of sight away from the younger members of the Pack (JB had agreed with Mark that keeping things private until the makane line were of age was an absolute _must;_ they didn’t want the pups feeling left out or somehow _less_ loved because they weren’t a part of that intimacy). So far it's been strictly above-belt.

Not that Jaebum hasn’t often _thought_ about taking things one step further (especially with Mark, who can be a big fucking tease during photoshoots when he knows JB is watching, the swine), but he’s never acted on those impulses. To be honest, they haven’t really had enough free time between endless classes and performances and fansigns and _Real GOT7_ filming to actually do anything _more,_ since most days once they’re finally back home and showered, JB just about manages to say a mumbled goodnight to Jinyoung before passing out on his sleep-mat from exhaustion.

Maybe once promotions are out of the way and it’s back to album-prep for their next comeback, there’ll be more opportunity to explore…other things. In the meantime, JB’s perfectly content with chaste kisses and lingering looks.

“Hyung?”

Drawn out of his thoughts sharply by the quiet voice, Jaeubum hurries to the living room doorway, finding Yugyeom propped up on his elbows on the couch cushions and blinking at his surroundings blearily.

“Hey,” he murmurs, keeping his voice pitched low and soothing as he moves to perch on the edge of the cushions, a gentle hand cupping the side of Yugyeom’s neck. “Feeling any better, cub?”

Yugyeom nods, blinking sluggishly. The skin under JB’s palm feels warmer than it usually does, but the fever’s come down significantly from the pyroclastic inferno that had been raging in the kid’s head that morning (the sudden spike had prompted Mark to contact their nicest Beta manager despite the early hour because they needed someone to drive them to the nearest emergency clinic). The prescription suppressant patches that the kid’s been started on are working more effectively than the ones they’d used last night – the dose has been tailored according to the maknae’s weight and heightened metabolic rate (the teenager burns off energy like there’s no tomorrow and is constantly hungry because of it), so it’s finally managing to control the pesky fluctuating hormones that had been making the kid feel so shitty earlier on.

“Are the others home yet?” the Omega asks, his voice a little croaky.

Jaebum shakes his head, brushing Yugyeom’s fringe back. “They’ve got dance class all afternoon,” he reminds the maknae. “They won’t be home ‘til after dinner.”

“Oh. Right.” Yugyeom wearily scrubs a hand down his face. “Sorry, my head’s kinda fuzzy.”

The Alpha smiles at him in sympathy. “You were only out for thirty minutes or so. Why don’t you sleep a little while longer?”

Yugyeom looks up at him, seeming to hesitate for a moment. “Can…will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?”

Chest swelling with warmth and fondness, Jaebum’s smile softens and he leans in briefly to nuzzle at the Omega’s too-warm brow before shifting to sit where Yugyeom’s head and shoulders had previously been lying, moving the small cushion into his lap and guiding the maknae back down again so that his head is pillowed there comfortably.

“I can stay as long as you like,” he promises, left arm coming to rest over the teenager’s torso in a half-hug, the fingers of his other hand idly combing through the Omega’s hair and scratching soothingly at his scalp.

Yugyeom gives a sleepy hum of approval, closing his eyes again with a sigh of contentment as his hand loosely curls around JB’s forearm as though to keep him close. Within minutes, the teenager’s breathing has evened out again, lulled back to sleep by JB’s gentle ministrations and the reassuring presence of his Alpha.

And if Jaebum stares down at his snoozing cub with a dopey smile and a look of absolute fondness for the next fifteen minutes…well, nobody else is there to call him out on it.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

**_Come find me on[Tumblr](https://crooked-inkwell.tumblr.com/)! _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :)
> 
> And I'm sorry for the lack of updates these past few weeks, it's been a pretty hectic month for me at work, and then literally all my favourite kpop groups have had comebacks/concerts/activities back-to-back so all of my free time seems to have been snatch up by summer bops and endless Vlive specials. 
> 
> It feels good to get this updated again, though! I'm in a super soft mood today, can you tell? Also I've had Snuper's "Platonic Love" stuck in my head ever since I wrote that damn phrase 6 hours ago. Check out the song, it's a total underrated bop. :)
> 
> ALSO MY TALENTED ASTRO CHILDREN FINALLY HAD A COMEBACK, GOD BLESS! "Always You" is the song of the year for me, with Gugudan's unit "Semina" as a close second - check out both those bops, or you'll be missing out! :)
> 
> Love you! <3


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